【明報專訊】Sex education and sexuality education are different. Generally speaking, the former is about the physiological aspect, while the latter covers a boarder area including psychological and societal ones. The International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, amended by UNESCO in 2018, is an international standard that covers aspects such as sexual behaviour, sexual health, reproductive health, sexual equality and sexual identity.

Child marriage in Vietnam

According to a report published by Plan International in 2018, one of ten females between 15 and 19 years of age was married in Vietnam. Though the legal marriage age for women in Vietnam is 18 years old, gender stereotypes and poverty have rendered many females in the country married young. In some ethnic groups, the practice of ''abducting a young girl to marry her'' remains, so women are in no position of making their own choices about their marriage. Plan International also says that the sophistication of social network has made it easier for young people to begin romantic relationships. As sex education remains a taboo subject in the country, the rate of teenage pregnancy has risen, and young females are often left with no choice but to get married.

Falling teenage pregnancy rate in UK

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service(BPAS), a charity in the UK, said in 2018 that the teenage pregnancy rate in Britain had been falling over the previous 20 years. The group believed that this had been due to the government's policies. Over the previous 10 years, the British government had introduced measures such as strengthening sexual education in schools and clinics and making contraception more easily accessible by teenagers. The teenage pregnancy rate had fallen by 50 percent since 2007.

The BPAS also found that a change in attitudes had contributed to the fall in the teenage pregnancy rate. The majority of respondents now believed that it was not a commendable thing to do to become parents as teenagers, while young females no longer believed that they would enjoy the support of their families or the country when they became parents. Furthermore, over 80 percent of respondents used protection when having sex. The BPAS believed that the younger generation seemed to be more responsible and mature, especially when it came to alcohol and sex.

Sexual education reform

In a proposal submitted to the Education Bureau in October 2018, the Equal Opportunities Commission said that sexual education in Hong Kong focused too much on knowledge about reproduction. The commission argued that it should include other aspects such as gender equality, gender relations, gender stereotypes and prejudices. Issues concerning homosexual and transgender people should also be covered. The commission believed that sexual education should help young people develop a positive attitude towards gender relations, gender roles and gender equality. Topics can include ''equality as a core value'' and ''respect for the people's choices''. The principle of equality should extend to homosexual, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

Translated by Terence Yip

[通通識 第635期]