Sex ed and girls: Dorries' day of common sense

The second reading of Nadine Dorries' Private Member's Bill^[1] will take place on the 20^th January. Dorries' call for schools to be required to provide additional sex ed classes to help equip girls aged 13 to 16 with strategies to delay sex, although scoffed at and jeered at by some, is welcomed by many as common sense, as it recognises the extreme pressure girls face to become sexually active in today's highly sexualised society.

The easy availability of contraception, the morning after pill, and abortion, and the expectation that girls will use them, has removed one of the most effective weapons in the armoury for a girl who is trying to resist pressure to have sex. A girl has to be inwardly very strong to fight against the pressure to become sexually active, and the very fact that such products are so easily accessible to teenagers establishes a cultural and social expectation that teenagers are having sex.  

Indeed, young teenagers tell us that having sex is what is expected; if not before 16 then definitely when they hit 16, whether they are in a relationship or not. They feel they're not normal if they don't. Where are they getting such ideas from? TV, films, advertising, the music industry, friends, internet, school are influences typically reeled off. They say they don't believe what's being presented to them, but they fall for it, hook, line and sinker.

As a charity involved in sex and relationships education (SRE) and also in helping young people pick up the pieces after early sexual encounters, we know all too well the harm that can result. It's not just pregnancy, abortion and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that can be devastating, but the emotional stress of a sexual relationship too. Repeated studies show that first sex is often regretted by girls and boys,^[2] that girls are more likely than boys to be pressurised into sex,^[3] that sexual experimentation by girls puts them at higher risk of depression,^[4] and that alcohol plays a large part in what's going on. This is the grim reality.

What's good about this Bill?

Nadine is right in saying enough is enough; something LIFE has been saying for a long time. We have to be bold enough to say that the harm reduction model of SRE - which tells teenagers that sex is okay even if you're underage, as long as you use a condom, “feel ready” and give consent - is at best inadequate, and at worst extremely damaging. The simple fact is that getting a young person to use a condom and give consent does not mean it is in their best interests to have sex. What is essential for the well-being of youth is to equip and inspire them to delay sexual activity.

The Private Member's Bill put forward by Nadine Dorries MP does precisely this. It rightly addresses the huge pressures girls are facing to become sexually active. There is a great deal of common sense, therefore, in calling for classes specifically for girls so they feel free to talk openly about the pressures they are experiencing, their fears and concerns, and to acquire strategies to combat the pressures they face. Yet will classes such as these, which encourage and teach the benefits of delaying sex, have a positive effect? There will be those trying to discredit such an approach, yet there is compelling evidence to show that teaching the benefits of abstinence does work.^[5] It really is great to wait!

What we would like to see in SRE

Like other SRE providers, LIFE wants to see a reduction in teenage pregnancies, abortions and STI infection rates. We share the Government's preference for maintaining a decentralised approach to SRE, as we believe that schools, in collaboration with parents, are best placed to know and respond to the complex needs of the teenagers they teach.

In addition to existing components of SRE (knowledge about basic sexual biology, accurate information about the major STIs and knowledge of how contraception works), we believe that it is essential for secondary students to be taught about the emotional damage that can be associated with early sexual activity. Teenagers should be helped to develop a sense of respect for themselves and others, including respect for others' bodily integrity and autonomy, be prepared for the complexity of sexual relationships and have realistic expectations and perspectives concerning their consequences.

Teenagers need to be challenged to have a critical approach to prevailing cultural expectations concerning sexual behaviour, and be equipped to resist the trends towards sexualisation of society identified, for example, in the recent Bailey review. Hence pupils should be equipped with reasons and resources to delay first sexual activity, and be informed of the benefits associated with doing so, as well as an appreciation of the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and the raising of children.^[6]

In adopting a holistic approach such as this, we hope to equip and inspire all teenagers to make choices that will not only keep them safe, but lead to loving and lasting stable relationships, which is where, for most of us, our deepest happiness will be found.