Presentation on HIV, Education and Human Rights, by Jack Fletcher of Sexpression. Presented on 21 February 2015 at the Positive Persons' Forum in Glasgow.

1. Sex and relationship education
Jack Fletcher

2. Who is this guy?

8. What was your sex education
like?

11. Why??
• Although teenage pregnancy has fallen greatly in recent years, the
rates in Scotland are still one of the highest in Europe;
• Sexual transmitted infections are still rife due to lack of
contraception use;
• Homophobia is rife in schools and this is an issue that needs
effective confrontation, of which education is key. Homophobia
leads to self-harm, depression and reduced attainment in the
individuals education capabilities, an issue that is epidemic in
schools as shown by the many reports by Stonewall Scotland;
• Consent is a huge area of ambiguity and this only adds to sexual
violence, rape and verbal harassment this is not treated with the
concern it deserves.

12. It goes on…
• The outcomes and proposed directions for teaching are good, but
Scotland should be striving for excellence in its provision of education
• one quarter (24%) had no SRE trained staff, and in 52% of schools the staff
currently responsible for SRE delivery were not trained;
• less than 5% – 13/299 primary schools did not formally offer SRE when it
should be 100% coverage across Scotland;
• denominational schools predominantly expressed views
that contraception should not be discussed even if raised by pupils (76%),
and 70.6% were unwilling to discuss STIs;
• when prompted, the children could remember other aspects of SRE, such
as health promotion and anti-bullying events, but had little understanding
of the role of the informal curriculum in developing positive relationships;
• case studies showed that schools initial fears about parental complaint
went unrealised.

13. And on…
Evidence shows that sex and relationship education:
•reduces teenage pregnancy rates (which in Scotland has not reduced that much since
1994);
•does not increase the sexual activity of teenagers, but instead lowers;
•promotes higher rates of contraception use;
Good quality, comprehensive sex and relationships education also:
•teaches medically correct terms for sexual parts of the body and the difference
between appropriate and inappropriate touch and behaviour – vital to help children
identify abusive behaviour and seek help
•develops key skills such as communication to support mutual consent in
relationships;
•informs young people how to access sexual health services and
•promotes core values around respect
•promotes inclusion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and
challenges inequality in relation to gender and sexual orientation

14. I need more!
• SRE helps students to learn about the emotional, social and
physical aspects of growing up as well as relationships,
human sexuality and sexual health.
• In providing non-judgemental accurate information in
these areas, the children and young people of Scotland can
have the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions
for themselves.
• Scotland can join many other countries in Europe that
already have SRE in place in their education: Denmark,
France, Germany, Greece, Netherland, Norway, Poland and
Sweden; to name a few.

15. Let the numbers do the talking
• 13 out of 299 primary schools not teaching it
at all
• Some regions are excellent and have 100% of
schools teaching an appropriate sexual health
and relationships education programme
• But there are also some regions where the
figure is lower such as the 84% in the largest
region, Strathclyde
• Ticking boxes?

17. • The British Medical Association, in a written
statement to the Health and Sport
Committee’s enquiry into Teenage Pregnancy
in 2013, concluded that school based
programmes for sexual health promotion,
“although a part of Curriculum for
Excellence”, were “not implemented
uniformly across Scotland”.

21. Lessons learnt
• Get more support in advance
• Involve MSPs more
• Get an MSP to submit a private bill
• Get more media training
• Get more help from the organisation
• Know the system more
• Find out more about the committee
presentation in advance

24. What’s out there for you?
• Your own?
• Humanist Society
• PSHE Association
• Sex Education Forum
• Brook
• Family Planning Association

25. Advocate!
• Blogs
– Anonymous
– Pseudo-name
• Tweet/Share/ Instagram/ Reblog etc
• Talk to friends
• Talks in schools/ youth clubs/ scouts / guides
• MP/MSP
• TV/ Radio
• Keep up to date
– Newsletters
– Social media
– News

26. Not everyone is an expert
• Be prepared for questions
• Some mean well but say it wrong
• Be prepared for downs and criticism
• Take breaks!
• Ask for help

27. Thank you!
• coordinator@sexpression.org.uk
• Like Sexpression:UK on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter @sexpression