SEX EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Penis. Vagina. Sex.

When people hear this word, the first reaction is a shock. Just maybe hearing me say these
words right now gives you uncomfortable emotions. That is when we were still a child, our parents or
elders had taught us that mentioning these words are disrespectful, uncouth, or in the Filipino language,
‘bastos’. I can still remember that these terms are always censored when I was a kid. The solution that
our guardians have made for this matter is by replacing these terms from vagina to a flower and penis to
a banana. The misconception of sex in our country is affecting the lives of our children and teenagers.
The Philippines should start implementing sex education in schools to prevent a wave of medical injuries
in the future.

As per Wikipedia, “sex education is the instruction of 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, and birth control.” It is
a wide variety of topics that introduces the children and youth to better decision making. One of the
problems caused by not having comprehensive sex education is teenage pregnancy. According to DOST-
PCHRD, 78% of the young Filipinos first sex was made without the use of contraception. As reported by
Philippine News Agency, “The Philippines has recorded a total of 180,916 live births among adolescents
aged 10 to 19 in 2019. The figure is equivalent to 495 live births per day in the 10 to 19 age group.”
Also, only 3% of the live births are fathered by men with the same age as the girls. This is a threat to
unprivileged girls who are fooled and controlled by older men. If sex education was introduced in the
schools, these girls would know the consequences of engaging in relationships and sex. The use of
contraceptives would be highlighted.

Another troubling case is the increase of sexually transmitted diseases in the country. Last 2017,
the Philippines has the highest HIV infection in Asia-Pacific. According to Ted Regencia in Aljazeera news,
HIV cases have grown to 3,147 percent in the past 10 years. STDs are commonly acquired through
unprotected sex. Some people are still afraid or ashamed to buy contraceptives in the store as they are
condemned by the people. Most cases of STDs happened during temporary hook-ups that is why using
condoms is a must for safety and protection as there are people who do not know they have contracted
STD and unconsciously spread the disease to others.

As stated in the article entitled ‘Sexuality: What children should learn and when’, parents should
start teaching toddlers (18-24 months old) all the body parts including the genitals as it helps them to
converse any health issues and sexual abuse. Up until today, the words penis, vagina, and sex are still
banned in Philippine television. We have to know that these are organs of the human body and speaking
the words are not ‘bastos’. Preschoolers aged 2-4 years old should understand the very basics of
reproduction such as when the egg and sperm unite, a baby in the uterus grows. By ages 5-8 years old,
the children should have the basic understanding that some people are heterosexual, homosexual, or
bisexual and there is a range of self-identification. That gender is not identified by the person’s genitals.
Ages 9-12 should know about contraception, safer sex, and sexually transmitted infections. They should
understand that being a teenager does not mean being sexually active and that they know what makes a
good relationship and a bad one. And at the age of 13-18, adolescents should have known that
menstruation and nocturnal emissions (wet dreams) are natural and healthy. They should also be
informed about choosing the best contraceptives for themselves and be informed about the effects of
drugs and alcohol.

The battle for sex education in schools is mainly opposed by the church. According to Monsignor
Pedor Qitorio on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, sex education should be taught by
the parents and if taught in schools, it should not start in grade schools but college. The church is also
against the free distribution of contraceptives to teenagers. The church believes that sexuality is a holy
gift from God and disputes sex outside marriage. The believers fear that sex education will lead to more
sexual interactions and by giving contraceptives, you are telling children you can have sex but only safe
sex. But, professionals believed that abstinence-only education is undermining health programs and also
violate adolescent human rights. Withholding significant information for young people is a violation of
their rights. Abstinence-only is a failure and the Philippines being just an example of this. A study from
Mathematica has presented that youths who participated in abstinence-only education are likely to have
sex like their friends who did not participate. A lot of parents living in marginalized and rural areas do
not get to educate their children about safe sex because they do not have the knowledge to do it. That is
why comprehensive sex education should be taught in schools for fair access to knowledge of everyone.

If comprehensive sex education is not implemented in our country, a rapid increase in mental,
medical, and societal problems will evolve. Significantly today that porn sites are widely accessible for
everyone, if the parents and the schools have failed to educate the children, the youth would get their
education in porn sites. The Philippines has grown to be a religious country, but we cannot deny the fact
that media had liberated and exposed the people. If we insist to be conservative and turn an eye on
these problems, we had given up the future of our country. And if ever-virginity comes to an issue again,
remember what Jean Milburn from Sex Education has said, “Sexuality is fluid. Sex doesn’t make us
whole. And so, how could you ever be broken?”.

RESOURCES:

AboutKidsHealth. (n.d.). AboutKidsHealth. https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?

contentid=716&language=English

Abstinence only education is a failure | Columbia public health. (2017, August 22). Columbia Public
Health |. https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/abstinence-only-education-
failure

Addressing teenage pregnancies declared as ‘national priority’. (2021, June 29).

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145373

Bongolan, H. R. (n.d.). More Pinoy youth engage in risky sexual activities, survey confirms. PCHRD
Website. https://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/events/3896-more-pinoy-youth-engage-in-risky-
sexual-activities-survey-confirms

Church vs state in Philippine sex education row. (2010, August 3). BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10552591
Regencia, T. (2018, February 19). Philippines: HIV cases up 3,147 percent in 10 years. Breaking News,
World News and Video from Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/2/19/philippines-hiv-
cases-up-3147-percent-in-10-years

Sex education. (2002, March 1). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 2, 2021, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_education

Sex education in the Philippines. (2020, December 10). The Borgen Project.
https://borgenproject.org/sex-education-in-the-philippines/

Staff, R. (2017, August 1). Philippines has highest HIV infection growth rate in Asia-Pacific: U.N. U.S.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-aids-philippines-idUSKBN1AH3CW

Study finds that comprehensive sex education reduces teen pregnancy. (2008, March 28). American Civil
Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/study-finds-comprehensive-sex-
education-reduces-teen-pregnancy