Let’s talk about sex

“What is sex?” and “How do babies come?” are the questions that all parents dread hearing because they struggle to answer them. This difficulty applies to most people because sex is something everyone does, but no one talks openly about it. The consequences of this attitude are reflected in statistics on Reproductive and Sexual Health (ref. National Action Plan of Greece 2008-2012):

• 500,000 women die during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum (more than 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries) (WHO 2000).
• More than 120,000,000 couples face problems with adopting contraceptive methods (Ross, 2002).
• Every year 80,000,000 women experience unintended pregnancies, of which 45,000,000 are terminated (Alan Guttmacher Institute 1999). 19,000,000 out of these 45,000.000 abortions are performed in unsafe environments. 40% of them occur in women under the age of 25. Approximately 68,000 women die each year from complications related to unsafe abortions (WHO, 2004).
• An estimated 340,000,000 new cases of the four most common sexually transmitted infections occur yearly. One-third of them affect individuals under 25 (WHO, 2001).
• Approximately 5,000,000 new cases of HIV infection are reported each year (UNAIDS, 2005).

Additionally, there are incidents of physical and sexual violence reported 1 in 2 to 1 in 6 women, which are associated with many sexual and reproductive health problems (Garcia-Moreno, 2005).

“I struggle to cope with the diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and it makes it even more difficult that my partner accuses me of involving him in examinations and doctors.” I., 20 years old

Sexual health is a fundamental component of overall health and well-being for people in general. According to the World Health Organization (2006a). Sexual health is defined as:

“…a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being related to sexuality. It is not referred to the absence of disease, dysfunction, or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, complementary to pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination, and violence. Sexual health to be attained and maintained, must sexual rights of all persons to be respected, protected, and fulfilled.”

From the above definition, one can understand that sexual health involves a range of issues related to sex, such as sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, relationships, and pleasure. The consequences of its absence include both health conditions, like sexually transmitted diseases and situations of sexual violence or risky sexual practices.

How could society address these issues if it doesn’t talk about them? The above leads us to question how young people ultimately learn about sex. Research data reports that principal sources of sexual education, when it is available, are primarily friends and family, with schools playing a much smaller role. Furthermore, while sex is everywhere in media and the internet, they provide an unsafe way of obtaining information. Although the theoretical recognition of the need for children and adolescents to receive information from experts, in practice, in Greece, sexual education was only introduced as a subject in the curriculum this school year.

Sexual education aims to equip children and young people with attitudes, knowledge, and skills that will allow them to make choices based on their physical and mental health, well-being, dignity, and respect for themselves and their partners. It also enables them to protect themselves from risks such as unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and practices of sexual violence.

Education must start at a young age, whereas its results usually appear during adolescence and young adulthood. It emerges that young individuals who have been informed in a timely and accurate manner about sex tend to take fewer risks in their sexual behaviour and are better able to protect themselves from sex-related dangers, whether it be unwanted pregnancies or issues of consent and prevention.

All of the above is important because, fundamentally, sex should occur within the context of respect and pleasure between consenting partners. The more informed one is, the better they can protect themselves and their partners, enjoying physical contact safely.