Comprehensive sex education teaches young people about human sexuality, relationships, and sexual health. It covers topics like puberty, sexual anatomy, consent, and STI and pregnancy prevention. While controversial in the Philippines, supporters argue it can help reduce issues like teenage pregnancy by allowing open discussion of sexuality and teaching consent and abstinence. A pilot program implemented sexuality education modules in Philippine schools starting in 5th grade, covering age-appropriate topics integrated into various subjects, but did not distribute contraceptives. Proponents believe comprehensive sex education has benefits like empowering youth and protecting their health and academic success, though critics argue some may not be mature enough for the content.

1. Sex
Education

2. What is Sex
Education?

3. – According to Wikipedia, Sex education is
instruction on issues relating to human sexuality,
including emotional relations and
responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual
activity, sexual reproduction, age of consent,
reproductive health, reproductive rights, safe
sex, birth control and sexual abstinence.

4. – Sex education that covers all of these aspects is
known as comprehensive sex education.
Common avenues for sex education are
parents or caregivers, formal school programs,
and public health campaigns.

5. Facts About
Comprehensive Sex
Education

6. – Sex education is high quality teaching and
learning about a broad variety of topics related
to sex and sexuality, exploring values and
beliefs about those topics and gaining the skills
that are needed to navigate relationships and
manage one’s own sexual health.

7. – Sex education may take place in schools, in
community settings, or online. Planned
Parenthood believes that parents play a critical
and central role in providing sex education.

8. Sex Education on the
Philippines

9. – MANILA, Philippines – Comprehensive sexual
education (CSE), a "critical piece" of the
reproductive health (RH) law, still "leaves
something to be desired," according to the
country representative of the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) to the Philippines.

10. Why is sexual health
education important to young
people’s health and well-
being?

11. – Communicate about sexuality and sexual
heath. Throughout their lives, people
communicate with parents, friends and
intimate partners about sexuality. Learning to
freely discuss contraception and condoms, as
well as activities they are not ready for,
protects young people’s health throughout
their lives.

12. – Delay sex until they are ready. Comprehensive
sexual health education teaches abstinence as
the only 100 percent effective method of
preventing HIV, STIs, and unintended
pregnancy – and as a valid choice which
everyone has the right to make.

13. – Understand healthy and unhealthy relationships.
Maintaining a healthy relationship requires skills
many young people are never taught – like
positive communication, conflict management,
and negotiating decisions around sexual activity.

14. – Understand, value, and feel autonomy over
their bodies. Comprehensive sexual health
education teaches not only the basics of
puberty and development, but also instills in
young people that they have the right to
decide what behaviors they engage in and to
say no to unwanted sexual activity.
Furthermore, sex education helps young
people to examine the forces that contribute to
a positive or negative body image.

15. – Respect others’ right to bodily autonomy. Eight
percent of high school students have been
forced to have intercourse, while one in ten
students say they have committed sexual
violence. Good sex education teaches young
people what constitutes sexual violence, that
sexual violence is wrong, and how to find help
if they have been assaulted.

16. – Show dignity and respect for all people,
regardless of sexual orientation or gender
identity. The past few decades have seen huge
steps toward equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Yet LGBT
youth still face discrimination and harassment.
Among LGBT students, 82 percent have
experienced harassment due to the sexual
orientation, and 38 percent have experienced
physical harassment.

17. – Protect their academic success. Student sexual
health can affect academic success. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
found that students who do not engage in
health risk behaviors receive higher grades than
students who do engage in health risk
behaviors. Health-related problems and
unintended pregnancy can both contribute to
absenteeism and dropout.

18. Status of sex
education in the
Philippines

19. – Sex Education is probably one of the sensitive
topics as far as the Philippines is concerned. It
has been a subject of debate whether to
incorporate this in the school curriculum. The
reason behind it is to address the problems of
pre-marital sex and teenage pregnancies
among teenagers, and to check the spread of
sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs).

20. – Most recently, the Department of Health
announced a plan to distribute condoms to
high school students. They said this is in
conjunction with introducing sex education to
these students in order to address the
aforementioned problems.

21. – This move was met with strong if not harsh
criticism from the conservatives of society.
While the aforementioned measure will
address the said problems, the issue here is
whether the youth are mature enough to
understand the nature of sex.

22. – The latest report on the implementation of the
RH law revealed the Department of Education
(DepEd) has not yet developed the minimum
standards of comprehensive sexuality
education that schools and other learning
facilities should comply with.

23. New sexuality education modules are being
tested in 159 schools in the Philippinesfor the
2010–2011 school year, which began June 15,
2010. The test modules will be integrated
throughout core subject areas and the goal is
that they may be later applied to all schools in
the Philippines.

24. – The Philippine pilot program is funded by the United
Nations Population Fund. Beginning in grade five and
extending through grade 12, lessons will be
incorporated into science, health, English, and
physical education courses. The teaching modules
serve to educate students about many aspects of
sexual relations and strive to teach age-appropriate
material. Topics of personal care and hygiene, the
menstrual cycle, and puberty will be taught beginning
in the earlier years of the program, whereas “proper
behavior among and between peers of different
genders” and the religious perspective on premarital
sex will be focused on in later years. However,
instruction about contraceptives will not be provided,
nor will condoms be distributed in schools.

25. Conclusion

26. – National Economic and Development Authority
chief Ernesto Pernia said the Duterte
administration will go "full speed ahead" in
implementing sexuality education in the
country as it is "one sure way" to reduce
teenage pregnancies and unwanted
pregnancies. (READ: To avoid RH law delays,
economic planning chief proposes Duterte EO)

27. Sources
– http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction
=Feature.showFeature&featureID=1909
– http://www.psst.ph/sex-education-
philippines/
– https://www.rappler.com/nation/139118-sex-
education-philippines-unfpa