Sex education, which is sometimes called sexuality education Dr sex and relationships education, is the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy.

Sex education is also about developing young people’s skills so that they make informed choices about their behaviour, and feel confident and competent about acting on these choices.

It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education. This is because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, exually transmitted diseases and HIV and AIDS.

Following is a brief description of the main components of the sexual health education :

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(1) Sex Roles

The study of sex roles is vital to achieve one of the objectives of sexual health education, namely, to enable the youth the understand and cope with changes in their own lives. The breaking down of traditional social structures and the changing role of men and women as a result of social change is one such example.

Studies on sex role stereotypes indicate that men and women generally hold stereotypes of the typical characteristics of males and females. Males are logical, dominant, independent, unemotional, and aggressive while, women are sensitive, emotional, nurturing, and are somewhat dependent and submissive.

It is unlikely that such personality characteristics are completely in same, because in some cultures women are aggressive and dominant, while men are found to be emotional and sensitive. If there is inherent pre-disposition that is different for each sex, it appears that particular cultures emphasize some and mask others.

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Furthermore, literature and mass media tend to create, reinforfce and perpetuate many sex role differentiations. Many experts agree that the pressure, anxiety and confusion about male female roles are core issues in most concerns related to sexuality. Stereotyped sex roles hinder people from developing their natural abilities and personalities.

(2) Pre-marital sex and teenage pregnancies

Pre-marital sex has given rise to a range of alarming problems. Today’s teenagers are faced with new challenges. Sexual activity has become more over among the youth and society in general. Girls and boys are reaching sexual maturity at an earlier age. Because of their early menarche girls are able to conceive at a younger age.

As sexual intercourse among adolescents in some countries becomes common, teenage pregnancies are on the increase. Sexual permissiveness is encouraged by sexual messages conveyed through the mass media. It has negative impact on the individual and the society. Hardly any effort is made to provide moral education.

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Teenage pregnancies pose many problems. Strong social pressure may lead to illegal abortion and may also provoke the women to commit suicide. Illegitimate children may face the problem of social and legal discrimination as well as economic hardships. If marriage is forced on the mother, there is a high probability of marriage failure.

When a low level of educational attainment among the women is perpetuated from generation to generation, their opportunities for employment also get reduced. Thus, their continued dependence on others for their

livelihood is reinforced. In terms of health, early reproduction is usually harmful both physically and emotionally, then one which begins late.

(3) Social relationship

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The growth and development of social relationship of young people is, by and large, centered around their interaction with siblings, parents, peer group and members of the opposite sex. Early experience of social relationship is usually centered around home. However, as young people enter into their teens, physical and emotional development which takes place in them is marked by changes in the patterns of interpersonal relationship.

Parents continue to have control over their teenage children and provide protection and guidance. However, teenagers try to assert their independence by shifting away from parents and trying to be on their own within their families. It is common for young people to have more frequent conflict with their parents over the amount of freedom they think they deserve. Some parents treat these changes in behaviour pattern as a challenge to their authority.

Many parents tend to think their growing child is inexperienced and therefore, cannot make right decisions. Such parents therefore, can also generate stress and strain for their children. Social development is easier for those teenagers who feel that their parents love and trust them. An over-protected teenager is likely to have greater difficulty in learning to act independently.

To a great extent, peer group relationships help teenagers to learn to interact with people in a healthy manner. It is also seen that adolescents look to their peer group for approval. During this period there is a tendency to have fiends from both sexes.

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While the peer influence helps in establishing independent identities, peer pressure at times can generate negative orientation in teenagers. Studies indicate that most people who indulge in drugs, alcohol and teenage sex do so under peer group pressure or orientation.

Therefore, an appropriate sexual health education package is required for young people which will enable them to adopt healthy behaviour pattern.

(4) Personal identity

During adolescence every child tries to establish his/her own identity. The establishment of identify is a gradual process during this stage of development. It is possible that the physical and psychological changes taking place during the teenage period can interfere with the process of establishing personal identity. However, as they grow into adulthood, they normally develop a strong sense of personal identity.

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Parents and teachers need to help and support young people to develop and maintain a high sense of self-esteem and self-concept. Self-

esteem is closely identified with self-respect. It is the realisation of oneself as a human being and the identification of one’s self within the society. The social development of a person is primarily based on this self-esteem.

(5) Emotional development

Teenage period that is from the age 13 to 19 is often described as a period of great excitement and emotional turbulence. The physical changes that take place among people during this period may result in a sudden upsurge of sexual feeling. Experiences of sexual excitement may occur when they are nearer to people of the same sex and age.

At this time they may not recognise that such emotions are sexual in nature. An increase in hormones can arouse sexual thoughts and excitement. However, due to social control such interests are not expressed in reality and this will lead them to day-dreaming. During the teenage period ‘wet dreams’ are common in many boys.

Emotional stress is a common phenomenon during adolescence due to the changes taking place with their bodies. Hormonal imbalance can cause irritation, restlessness, and tension. Young people need to be educated on such matters although most adolescents manage such changes and developments on their own.

It is however, essential that authentic knowledge on the subject is provided to them along with proper guidance and support from parents, teachers and responsible elders in the family. It is, however, most important to offer a healthy emotional climate for young people at home, in the school, as well as in the community where they can conveniently express their emotions.

(6) Sex Drive or Sexual feelings in childhood and adolescence

Sexual attitudes are formed from early childhood, although sexual

urges and emotions do not become apparent until the age of puberty. During this period, many changes occur among young boys and girls. In the male, puberty begins with the appearance of nocturnal emissions or wet dreams. At about his time, a young man begins to experience a distinct sexual urge that is associated with his genitals.

This heightened sexual excitability is likely to lead to masturbation. The sexual drive of young women, on the other hand, is less genital specific and she tends to associate sex with romantic situations.

This awakened sexual drive among the youth, particularly young men, creates a certain among of restlessness because of which the youth are often considered by their elders as being different and difficult.

These are the first indications towards the adolescent’s development an independent personality and existence which tend to be interpreted as an emotional withdrawal from home and family. During this stage lack of understanding on the part of elders and youngsters for each other is common.

(7) Social Aspects

The sociological and cultural aspects of human sexuality cover topics such as sexual behaviour, sexuality in childhood and adolescence, love, dating, relationship, adolescent pregnancy and moral code of ethics. Sexual adjustment is part of a person’s total development into a mature individual.

Sexual maturity helps to bring out what is best, most generous, and most constructive in an individual’s life. Sex is a basic drive upon which both race preservation and personal happiness depend. If sexuality does not evolve properly, the whole process of growth and development is likely to be affected negatively.

Excessive sex repression tends to impair freedom and the functioning of an individual to the extent that mating and sexual satisfaction are not attained. On the other hand, too much sexual freedom can interfere with normal demonstrations of love and mating functions, to the degree that sexuality remains on an infantile level. Disturbances in sexual development can lead to personal and social mal-adjustments.

(8) Conception, Pregnancy and Birth

In several counties in Asia, early marriages are common. This is true for India as well. Young couples are urged to have children as early as possible. Early pregnancies do create a lot of health, social, and psychological risks. Complications in pregnancies and child birth are the leading cause of death among women aged between 15 and 19 years in developing countries.

It is important to distinguish between younger and older adolescents when discussing the risks of pregnancies. Pregnant women of any age require good obstetric and antenatal care and nutrition. According to UNESCO package on sex education mortality rate among women who become pregnant before they are 15 is 60 per cent higher than for women in general. Mothers under 15 are 3.5 times more likely to die.

Pregnancy and birth are areas of real concern for teenagers. Because of the health risks, they will be interested to know about pre-natal and post-natal care, pregnancy symptoms and testing, foetal growth and development and labour or delivery.

(9) Physical, Emotional and Psychological Changes During Puberty

Puberty is a time for physical and emotional change. During puberty adolescents begin to become concerned about the physical changes they see in their bodies. Some may be developing at a slower

pace while some other may grow at a faster rate than friends. Some may be feeling awkward about their growth while some may become anxious over their bodily changes and may have conflicting feelings about becoming adult. Yet some others may feel proud and comfortable about their approach to maturity.

It is a time for adolescents to develop their esteem. Adolescence a period of high stress for many people. Young people are much concerned about their physical image and their relationships with their family friends. Their confusions, concern and anxiety affects their feeling of self worth. Behaviour matches self image.

A young person with a positive, health self image will make positive, health choices. Efforts should be made to encourage self-awareness and self-acceptance among the adolescents during this period of drastic change.

(10) Anatomy and Physiology of the Reproductive Systems

This part identifies the various male and female reproductive organs

and their functions. Adolescents need this information in order to understand the successive concepts concerning conception, pregnancy and contraception. Concept of menstrual cycle is also to be discussed.

(11) Gender Roles

The term ‘gender’ is derived from the French word ‘genre’ meaning sex. Sex refers to binary division between a male and female in terms of physical features, chromosomes, hormones and secondary sexual characteristics. Gender refers to those characteristics of males and females that are shaped by social factors.

While examining gender difference in life expectancies, we refer to social influences on survival, such as preference for male children and discrimination of women and girl children in matters of education, healthcare, nutrition etc. In fact the differences between males and females are derived from three sources;

(i) biology,

(ii) roles that men and women traditionally play in society, and

(iii) beliefs and opinions prevalent in society.

The existing inequalities between men and women and the subordination of women to men is one area of distinction between sex and gender which is quite explicit.

It is important to understand the gender-based role assignment by society to male and female. In fact, all these role stereotypes influence every aspect of human life. In Short we may say that gender roles are a set of behaviour which is determined by the society for men and women.

A close analysis of gender roles prevents in various cultures and societies through various ages show considerable variation. Across the globe we find that almost all societies have assigned different roles to men and women.

In fact, history shows that men and women hardly performed equal roles or held equal positions except in certain exceptional cases where women inherited the throne from their fathers. Otherwise men are valued higher than women. In short, the females are considered weaker and males stronger.

Men are considered wage earners, heads of households and leaders of the society in various fields. The role traditionally assigned to women include raising a family and maintaining the home, being ideal mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters while sacrificing their personal interests for the interest of the male members within the family.

The major impact on gender roles are influenced by the stereotyped sex roles which continue in every society. Almost all stereotypes are man-made, but they are considered to be natural.

In fact, this man- made stereotypes have been handed down from generation to generation which has resulted in the perpetuation of the discrimination against women. From the moment a child is born, identification of sex followed by gender-based role assignment begins and this process continues to be an integral part of socialization of children into adulthood.

Most of the stereotyped roles or messages are given to children from childhood days by parents, siblings, pears, society and the mass media. In fact, these messages communicate that certain behaviours are acceptable for body but not for girls, and vice-versa.

As the child grows up, he/she identifies himself/herself with the parents of the same sex. The male child starts internalizing the characteristic of his father and the female child internalizes the characteristics of the mother.

Gender roles continue to influence the behaviour of teenagers during the formative period. The gender identity with regard to various types or roles, such as occupational roles, domestic roles, kinship roles, community leadership roles, conjugal roles and parental roles continue to develop during the period of adolescence.

The effect of such gender- defined roles results in development of attitudes, behaviour and value orientation viewed appropriate for male and female in a given cultural setting.

Therefore, there is need to promote appropriate gender role development among young people during the formative period so that discrimination of women can be challenged and a transformation of traditional models of gender relations take place in the society. This is required if we want to create a decent society where men and women can live a meaningful life with dignity.

Only a consciously prepared curriculum on sexual health education can influence the existing stereotyped gender roles.

(12) Sexually Transmitted Discusses (STD)

STD as a topic in sexual health education has become more important due to the increased spread of STDs, and especially the dramatic rise in the incidence of HIV and AIDS. STD education should address two area: Factual education and inculcation of the Right social attitudes.