Should we teach Sex Education to minors? – Essay



Over the years the subject of sex education has been a topic of argument for various critiques. It is such a sensitive issue that people do not feel comfortable discussing it in public. However, one needs to carefully study and analyze the costs and benefits of sex education before forming an opinion about whether to teach sex education to minors or not. The need for sex is as natural a need as other basic needs such as food, water, clothing, shelter, etc. No matter how hard parents try to keep their young children away from sex, this natural desire is hard to curtail.

Proponents of sex education argue that minors are deeply involved in sexual activities and it is vital they are provided with adequate sex education. They believe that minors would get access to information related to sex in any case so it is important that they are taught what they should know to live a healthy and protected life. If parents or schools don't provide sex education to children they would seek the help of other mediums such as the internet and would resort to watching pornography. Pornography damages the entire image of sex and eradicates the emotional element out of this spiritual act. Proper education on the emotional side of sex should be provided to young individuals so they could refrain themselves from getting into trouble. The proponents of sex education believe that sex education should be made part of the curriculum for students so that positive results such as fall in abortion rates and teenage pregnancy could be observed.

On the other side of the argument are the opponents of sex education for minors. Generally this category includes parents who are of the view that minors are too young to be provided with such information. They argue that there is no need of sex education at a young age as young children do not understand it so these children don't need to know about it. Parents of the East consider it to be religiously wrong to teach children about sex. It is considered to be something which is not to be discussed or spoken about with children. Many of the religions also stop children from acquiring sex education before marriage. According to these religions knowledge related to sex should only be shared with those who are about to get married as that is the time when it is absolutely necessary to tell them. Such people are ignorant of the fact that in this modern era children have various other sources to find about sex and it is practically impossible that they do not have the knowledge beforehand.

There are various statistics present to support the viewpoint that sex education is necessary at some point in time in life. It allows people to have protected sex and reduces the chances of having sex related diseases such as HIV Aids. It also results in a fall in the number of pregnant teenagers and consequently a decrease in the abortion rate.

It seems that the debate will continue for a long time to come as the issue of sex education is a sensitive one. Many of the people who hold strong religious values would continue to protest against it while there is a strong chance that people and governments in the West would make it part of their curriculum. Sex education for minors is a subject which needs to be researched extensively before actually implementing it at the school level.