The Student Room Group

Sex Education in Britain - are we doing enough?

So I recently watched this channel 4 documentary called "Sex In Class", where one school in England brings in a Belgian sexologist to work on their sex education curriculum. In it, there's a lot of talk about how sex education is done in Belgium and where Britain's education is lackluster.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sex-in-class

It got me thinking about my own sex education at school. All we really covered were things about puberty, reproduction, safe sex and STDs. There was nothing about relationships; nothing about consent, or pleasure, nothing about the clitoris or even anything related to sex itself outside of how babies are made. We didn't even get the whole "how to put condoms on properly" that they seem to do at this school! There's a lot of important stuff that's simply not being touched on in "sex education".

What about you TSR? What more do we need to do to make Britain a more sex positive nation? What do you think about the approach to sex education taken in the documentary?
I think people would take sex ed more seriously if there were practical lessons. I'd go back to school if that were the case. 😊

Nooo, wait. That sounded paedo-ee :afraid:
I don't think there should be stuff about the clitoris etc but a more reasonable discussion including consent etc would be a great idea.

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Original post by Hype en Ecosse
So I recently watched this channel 4 documentary called "Sex In Class", where one school in England brings in a Belgian sexologist to work on their sex education curriculum. In it, there's a lot of talk about how sex education is done in Belgium and where Britain's education is lackluster.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sex-in-class

It got me thinking about my own sex education at school. All we really covered were things about puberty, reproduction, safe sex and STDs. There was nothing about relationships; nothing about consent, or pleasure, nothing about the clitoris or even anything related to sex itself outside of how babies are made. We didn't even get the whole "how to put condoms on properly" that they seem to do at this school! There's a lot of important stuff that's simply not being touched on in "sex education".

What about you TSR? What more do we need to do to make Britain a more sex positive nation? What do you think about the approach to sex education taken in the documentary?


Look at teen pregnancy rates. Do you really think we are doing enough?
Reply 4
While sex education is important, it's a fine line between awareness and encouragement. I don't think schools should teach it... It's the parents job.


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I thought the lady on this program was very inspiring and knew exactly what the impact porn was having on teenagers. I think that there should be completely open dialogue between young people and adults so that they don't have to have so much anxiety surrounding it. I don't think it'd quite work as a gcse but should definitely be included in phse classes :smile:
I think the problem is we sort of expect parents to do that kind of thing - but most people I know have never really openly discussed sex with their parents, and if they did, it was once they were adults and had been sexually active for a long time.

I think it's better to be safe than sorry. And I do think too many young people are uninformed. Despite sex ed and biology I know a fair few people who think women pee out of their vaginas. Of course there's always a line to toe once you start getting into the arena of talking about relationships and more emotional topics, as frankly that's something everyone takes years to learn for themselves and you don't want people just pushing their idea of what it should be about. But I do think talking about consent is important and that some base ideas can be established, such as you should do anything you don't want to and you shouldn't make anyone do anything they don't want to for your sake.

I also think it is important to allow kids to ask their questions, and not make them feel afraid or embarrassed. To that end I think anonymous questions read out and answered is an elegant solution.
Original post by Motorbiker
I don't think there should be stuff about the clitoris etc but a more reasonable discussion including consent etc would be a great idea.

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Why don't you think discussions about the clitoris are appropriate? I think it's very important for youngsters to be informed about their bodies and to have healthy relationships - both sides having an understanding of their bodies, including ignored areas such as the clitoris, is important to that! Watching the documentary, it was insane the amount of young girls (never mind the guys!) who didn't know where their clitoris was or what it looked like.

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