How Comprehensive Sexuality Education helps in Reducing Teenage Pregnancy
All parents, teachers and communities want children to thrive in their education, their health and their futures. Yet, too many young people receive confusing and conflicting information about puberty, relationships, love and sex, as they make the transition from childhood to adulthood. A growing number of studies show that young people are turning to the digital environment as a key source of information about sexuality.
CSE is adapted to the age and developmental stage of the learner and uses a learner-centered approach. Learners in lower grades are introduced to simple concepts such as family, respect and kindness, while older learners get to tackle more complex concepts such as gender-based violence, sexual consent, HIV testing, and pregnancy.
When delivered well and combined with access to necessary sexual and reproductive health services, CSE empowers young people to make informed decisions about relationships and sexuality and navigate a world where gender-based violence, gender inequality, early and unintended pregnancies, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections still pose serious risks to their health and well-being. It also helps to keep children safe from abuse by teaching them about their bodies and how to change practices that lead girls to become pregnant before they are ready.
Equally, a lack of high-quality, age-appropriate sexuality and relationship education may leave children and young people vulnerable to harmful sexual behaviours and sexual exploitation, including online violence, bullying and misinformation.
What does the evidence say about CSE?
The evidence on the impact of CSE is clear:
- Sexuality education has positive effects, including increasing young people’s knowledge and improving their attitudes related to sexual and reproductive health and behaviors.
- Sexuality education leads to learners delaying the age of sexual debut, increasing their use of condoms and other contraceptives when they are sexually active, increasing their knowledge about their bodies and healthy relationships, decreasing their risk-taking, and decreasing the frequency of unprotected sex.
- Programmes that promote abstinence as the only option have been found to be ineffective in delaying sexual debut, reducing the frequency of sex or reducing the number of sexual partners. To achieve positive change and reduce early or unintended pregnancies, education about sexuality, reproductive health and contraception must be wide-ranging.
- CSE is five times more likely to be successful in preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections when it pays explicit attention to the topics of gender and power
- Parents and family members are a primary source of information, values formation, care and support for children. Sexuality education has the most impact when school-based programmes are complemented with the involvement of parents and teachers, training institutes and youth-friendly services.
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