Sex education sought

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33003, 24 August 1972, Page 3

Sex education sought

'From our education reporter)

WELLINGTON, August 23. Secondary schools should provide for all pupils frank and open discussions on sex matters—this is apparently the opinion of a large number of the country’s 11,000 secondary schoolteachers. Some members of the national executive of the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association and a group of school principals agreed in an interview with “The Press” at the association’s annual conference today that teachers did give instruction on sex, and most said that more instruction should be provided. Referring to the problem on giving contraceptive instruction to those aged under 16, a legal opinion given to the association’s executive was mentioned. At present “every person commits an offence who instructs or persuades or attempts to in-

struct or persuade any person under the age of 16 years to use any contraceptive.” The legal opinion given to the association says that “an objective, factual nonpersonal discussion of methods of contraception within the context of a biology class would not incur legal penalty. But it must be emphasised that this opinion on the legalities of the situation does not necessarily insure any teacher who ventures into this area of discussion against legal repercussions. In short, there is an element of risk which must be recognised.” It was not suggested that any legislation be passed to force schools to adopt sex education programmes. The provision of information must be made available through direct consultation between the school and its community, the teachers said. Each ... district had special needs' and parents must realise that while a school might inform on sexual matters it faced the dilemma of not, yet, being able to touch on the moral issues involved in sex.

Teachers knew that they took the risk of infringing the law should they give any instruction on contraception, for example, but there was evidence that teachers had given such advice where it had proved “absolutely necessary.” The provision of outside specialists to assist in sex education programmes for all pupils was a necessity, as many teachers would not wish to give sex instruction. Schools could no longer side-step the fact that many third form girls were already sexually mature when they came to secondary school and to deny them information related to this maturity would be “asking for trouble,” said the teachers. Schools must provide this information “by default,” for it was obvious from the evidence provided by growing illegitimacy rates, increases in teen-age venereal disease, and the large numbers of young people who were misinformed on matters of sex, that parents were not providing the type of instruction needed.