Experts want sex education tackled by schools

A student writes down keywords describing his perfect life partner during a class for a pilot project at Yingjiang No 3 High School in Yingjiang county, Yunnan province, on June 22. YANG WANLI/CHINA DAILY

Growing confidence

"Using a condom is one of the most effective forms of contraception."

"If my girlfriend told me she was pregnant, I would calm her down first and tell her to avoid overexertion and manual labor. Still, we would need to tell both sets of parents."

"Girls should keep warm during their menstrual periods. Sometimes, before and during their periods, they are much easier to anger."

The statements above are answers to the question, "What do you know about girls and safe sex?" posed by a teacher at Yingjiang No 3 High School in Yunnan province. The answers, shared by three 13-year-old male students, indicate that young people are becoming more knowledgeable and confident about sexual activity.

Although there is no official sex education at the school, its Youth Love Station is one of 61 that have been operated by the nonprofit organization in Yingjiang county since 2012.

"Before we launched the project, many girls whose breasts were developing walked with their heads down because of 'shame'. Some even wore several items of clothing in summer to hide their breasts," said Nie Yongxian, the school's sex education teacher.

"That sort of thing is no longer seen, and sometimes, students even come to my office and discuss love and sex with me. There are also fewer cases of 'puppy love' now," Nie said.

Promotion via parents

In addition to delivering lectures about age-appropriate sex and gender knowledge to students at primary schools and colleges, the AIDS prevention project also promotes sex education among parents.

Jiang Jun participated in his first sex education class at the Dujiangyan Dingxin New Primary School in Sichuan province along with 60 other parents.

The father of sons ages 9 and 2 used his smartphone to take photos of every slide the teacher showed the class.

"My 9-year-old son started to ask me questions about sexual behavior when he saw animals having sex on a TV documentary. I didn't know how to respond," he said.

"Many parents of my generation who didn't receive this education have the same problem. We hope such knowledge can be taught in schools," Jiang said.

"Of course, parents should be educated too, so they can better understand their children's concerns."