Have you ever heard of In the clouds in anatomy class? Probably not, and not because you weren’t paying attention, but because it just… doesn’t exist.
Despite this, a survey of 1,600 UK university students demonstrated a great sense of creativity on the part of the students, with 45% of men stating that they might identify the nubis on a female anatomy diagramwhile 31% of women also claimed to be able to find it in themselves.
But once it stops being fun, reviewing the responses of young people between 18 and 25 years old shows how poorly prepared the new British generations are in sexual education, with results that -probably- would not be far from what we would find in Chile.
Even more worrisome, when asked regarding the location of the testicles and the clitoris (yes, these do exist), only 89% of men and 80% of women indicated being able to identify the testicles; while only 73% of men and 74% of women claimed to be able to pinpoint the location of the clitoris.
As revealed by the investigative media ViceIn addition, 38% of the women and 41% of the men confided that they had felt pressured to have their first experience of penetrative sex. And among those who had already started, 49% of men and 57% of women agreed that they had “problems” when dealing with sexual activities, with a quarter of men and a third of women adding that They did not know what to do when this happened.
“When we fail to dispel myths, provide accurate information, and have honest conversations with our youth, we are failing them. And this generation has been even more deficient in the matter because of the interruptions in education to which the pandemic has subjected us, ”said the specialist professor in health policy, Kirstin Mitchell, from the University of Glasgow.
One in 4 high school students felt compelled to have sex
Another country where the sexual behavior of young people is of concern is Australia. There, the La Trobe University conducted the 2022 version of its National Survey on Sexual Healthamong 6,841 young people between the ages of 14 and 18
One of the most worrying findings for researchers is that 24% of adolescents declared having had at least one experience of unwanted sex, pressured or pressured by their partner. The figure is even higher when it comes to women, trans or non-binary youth (who do not identify with either sex).
“Many of these young people have experienced unwanted sex in the context of an intimate relationship, feeling pressured to have sex or being worried regarding the negative consequences of refusing to have it,” said the professor from the Center for Research on Sex, Health and Society from La Trobe University, Jennifer Power.
“Compared to last year’s survey, the number of young people who say they have had unwanted sex grew by 10%, which is good news in terms of increased awareness of sexual violence and the importance of consent, but also indicates that we need to deliver more education on the subject to adolescents”, he stated.
In other important data, the survey found that while 94% of young people think that condoms should be used when having sex with a new partner, only 57% believe that their peers actually use them in these circumstances.
In addition, 80% of adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 stated that they had sent or received a photograph of a sexual nature (nude), and while 96% agree that one should be careful when sharing intimate graphic material, 60% believe that this practice helped them learn regarding their own sexuality or that of their partner.
“We are concerned that despite recognizing the importance of condoms, their regular use is low. And considering the rise in sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents in Australia, this is a point we should definitely discuss further,” Power concluded.
“Educating young people for abstinence does not work”
However, the lack of information on sexual education affects not only young people, but also their parents. in a document from the US NGO Advocates for Youthdedicated to disseminating information regarding insurance among students, realizes that one of the main myths is that sex education leads young people to initiate themselves sexually earlier.
“On the contrary -says the organization- various studies including a WHO program have recognized that offering young people comprehensive sexual education delays sexual initiation and, among those who have already started, reduces the frequency of sexual activity as well such as the number of partners and also, to use condoms and other contraceptive methods responsibly”, they affirm.
And if you still think it’s best to encourage young people to wait until marriage to have sex, well…it’s not working.
“A 5-year follow-up for a study commissioned by the US Congress confirmed that educational programs that advocate abstinence until marriage simply don’t work. The survey not only found no evidence that these programs increased abstinence rates among students, but also confirmed that the students in them had the same age of sexual initiation as those who did not follow them, “says the educational entity.
