Breaking the silence over sex education
by mahmood on 08/05/06 at 9:45 am · email · print
A community organisation is setting out to break the taboo over sex education at a talk show being staged tonight.
Helpline’s aim is to break the silence about sex and build bridges between young people, adults and professionals.
Sex education helps young people protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and HIV or Aids, say organisers.
The talk show, titled Sex education, Whose responsibility?, starts at 7.30pm, at the Carlton Hotel, Adliya.
Parents, teachers and school-going children are being urged to attend.
A panel of four professionals, a sexologist, a sex education specialist, a counsellor and an STD consultant will lead the discussions to help parents, teachers and young people gain a better understanding of the need for sex education in today’s world.
The panel of speakers are:
Dr Somaya Al Jowder, consultant family physician and head of the National Aids Committee.
Dr Bhartendu Mehta, consultant, dermatologist and sexually transmitted diseases specialist at American Mission Hospital.
Dr Ahmed Abdul Ghaffar Al Garf, consultant in family medicine and a professor at Arabian Gulf University.
Alison Dunkley, who specialises in counselling victims of sexual assault, as well as family and marriage counselling.
Jiju Verghese will be the moderator and Mr Manzoor Moideen is the event co-ordinator
Young people can be exposed to a wide range of attitudes and beliefs in relation to sex and sexuality, say organisers.
These sometimes appear contradictory and confusing. For example, some health messages emphasis the risks and dangers associated with sexual activity and some media coverage promotes the idea that being sexually active makes a person more attractive and mature.
Sex and sexuality are sensitive subjects and cultural influences restrict open discussions between parents and children.
Young people need to understand the moral and cultural framework that binds sex and sexuality, say organisers.
Naturally, many parents and their children feel embarrassed about talking about some aspects of sex and sexuality.
Viewing sex education as an on-going dialogue about values, attitudes and issues, as well as providing facts, can be helpful.
It has been shown that in countries where many families regard it as an important responsibility to talk openly with children about sex and sexuality, this contributes to greater cultural openness about sex and sexuality and improved sexual health among young people, say organisers.
Sometimes it can be difficult for adults to know when to raise issues, but the important thing is to maintain an open relationship with children which provides them with opportunities to ask questions when they have them.
Parents can also be proactive and engage young people in discussions about sex, sexuality and relationships.
This is the main issue, which Helpline will be focusing on in the talk show.
Helpline is a voluntary service dedicated to the task of helping people help themselves.
Volunteers man the phones round the clock in six hour shifts.
They speak English and the service also offer caller a choice of conversing in more than 10 regional Indian languages as well as Urdu, Sinhalese and Tagalog.
For more information on the talk show, contact 39421017, 39605609, 39873357 or 39826366.
Those who want any specific issues to be discussed or wish to share their thoughts may write to helplinebah@yahoo.com
Correspondence will be kept confidential.
GDN :: 8 May ’06
