July 15, 2009

U.K. Sex Ed Booklet Teaches Teens That Sex Is Fun, Healthy

Britain’s Nation Health Services (NHS) has released a new sex education pamphlet that teaches teens the physical and emotional benefits of sex and masturbation,The Associated Press reports. The organization is facing opposition from some educators who fear the material will encourage casual sex among teens when the country already has high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

According to the article, the new pamphlet, titled Pleasure, aims to break away from traditional sexual education guides that focus more on biological facts than the complexities of human relationships. However, it also includes demonstrations on how to use condoms and other contraceptives.

“Some of it is good sense, but I think it’s wrong to suggest that 16-year-olds should wantonly enter into having sexual intercourse for pleasure,” said Anthony Seldon, headmaster of Wellington College, a school for teens. “I think this is medically wrong and emotionally wrong and will increase teenage pregnancy and impact negatively on the formation of a long-term loving relationship.”

Steve Slack, who produced the pamphlet and is the director of the U.K.’s Centre for HIV & Sexual Health, disagrees with Seldon and insists that the goal of Pleasure is to assist young people in resisting peer pressure and delaying sex until they are emotionally prepared.

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Dr. Richard Ferri, Brewster MA, 2009-07-16 13:35:30
FUN? I kind of remember that but now it is more work than fun..but still worth it. God, I am so damn old...R

Dr T, San Francisco, 2009-07-15 18:30:40
It is the only sex ed with sense I have ever heard of. It is time people are civilized enough to talk about the truth. No prevention works based on denial of the honest truth about sex. Of course sex is healthy and about pleasure. Telling this doesn't stop us from telling about the risks of unprotected sex! What we never get is when we deny people the correct information, they get it from a wrong source without the safety info attached.