Sex education

For many centuries, the interpretation of sex education was determined by traditions sanctified by religion . Only in the XX century. Attempts at a scientific approach to the problems of sex education began . In the 2nd half of the 20th century everywhere there is interest in them not only from specialists - teachers , sexologists , etc., but also from the public and government bodies ^[1] . This is due, in particular, to the spread among youth of many countries of views that deny any restrictions and moral standards in sexuality (“single sexual morality — free love ”), with an increase in STDs , HIV / AIDS , the frequency of teenage pregnancies , abortions and childbirth in minors , etc. ^{[1] [2]}

In the USSR and other socialist countries, considerable attention was paid to questions of the methodology of sexual education of the younger generation . However, data on its effectiveness have not been published. ^{[1] [2]} Elements of sex education are present in the structure of individual education in Western countries ^[3] .

Elements of sex education are included in the programs of “ sexuality education ” that is widespread in Western countries . ^[4] The latter, as you know, is engaged in a detailed acquaintance of children and adolescents (beginning with the senior preschool and primary school ages) with the anatomical, physiological, sexological , hygienic and other information relating to issues of sex and sexual life. The proportion of sex education issues in later and more advanced sex education programs (the Netherlands and the USA ) is increasing ^{[2] [5] [6]} .

Sexual education methodology in the USSR

It covered age periods from early childhood (2-3 years), adolescence (12-16 years) to adolescence (16-21 years). The technique included five stages. Sexual education was introduced into sexuality education at the 4th-5th stage (starting from the 8th grade of high school) ^[7] .

Principles of Sex Education Technique

Sex education stemmed from the general principles of educational work in the USSR :

• sex education - as an integral part of the overall complex of educational activities in the family , preschools , schools , youth organizations, etc. based on a single approach from parents , teachers and educators, medical workers ^[8] ;
• it had differentiated
  • in accordance with the gender, age and degree of preparedness of the child ( parents )
  • and phased (successive) character; ^[9]
• it implied a combination with a favorable moral atmosphere and hygienic conditions. ^[ten]

Stages of Sex Education

Stage One

This stage covered children of younger and preschool ages. At the stage, children were taught basic hygiene skills and rules of behavior . For parents, the importance of care was emphasized, the direction of care to eliminate the possibility of irritation of the erogenous zones of the child (primarily in the genital area) with uncomfortable clothes , parasitic worms (pinworms) in the large intestine , etc. ^[11]

At 2-3 years old, the child formed a consciousness of belonging to a certain sex, an understanding of the differences in the body structure of a boy and a girl appeared, questions like “Where did I come from?” Appeared. These observations and questions are a consequence of the natural process of knowing the world around them, they have not yet been of a sexual nature. It was recommended to answer them in a form accessible to the child , briefly, without excessive detail (for example, without a description of the structure and function of the genitals ), since such a detail could arouse the child's interest in sexual details, about which he did not suspect and, of course, did not ask . ^{[1] [12]}

Since, as a rule, the child tried to get a more accurate answer to the question “Where do the children come from?” Only at the age of 5–7 years, and the question of the role of the father in his birth began to arise in the child at the age of 6–8 ^[13] At this time, children were quite satisfied with formal answers such as: “I gave birth to you in a maternity hospital ”, “You grew up in my tummy”, etc.

It was recommended to give examples from the life of animals , but one should not shy away from the true answer or resort to fairy tales about “ cabbage ”, “ storks ”, “ bazaar ”, etc. The elders were embarrassed, their refusal to answer a question, or the soon-revealed lie caused distrust of the child to them, a keen interest in the mysterious side of life and the need to satisfy curiosity with the help of more "knowledgeable" older comrades . ^[13]

Second Stage

Children of primary school age were taught the general moral, ethical and hygienic rules, important for normal sexual development. An essential role, as at other stages of sex education , was played by the organization of a rational regime and nutrition . ^[14] In preschool and primary school age, a child could fall in love (more often with an older, usually beautiful or strong person ), tried to be closer to his beloved, to caress, take care of him. In such cases, one should not fix attention on this love, it was necessary to try to switch the child's attention to new games , reading, and other activities. Love passed by itself. As at other stages of sex education , positive examples of correct relationships between parents and other adults were important. ^[one]

Third Stage

This stage corresponded to puberty . As a rule, this period was not accompanied by health disorders; increased fatigue, irritability, decreased attention could be observed. The task of the parents was to inform the child the necessary information about the physiological characteristics of the growing organism and teach him the appropriate special hygiene rules. ^[15] First of all, parents needed to prepare the girl for the appearance of menstruation . According to surveys of the time, 70% of girls learned about it from their mothers . The boy had to be prepared for the pollutions . It was necessary to teach girls the rules of a special toilet, keeping a menstrual diary, talk about clothes , food , routines during these periods, etc. Boys should also be oriented that pollutions are a natural phenomenon and that they require basic hygiene . A persistent but tactful fight was needed against the frequent abuse of masturbation at that time, which should not have taken the form of intimidation by its “terrible” consequences. ^{[1] [16] [17]}

Fourth and Fifth Steps

The main task of the 4th and 5th stages of sex education (respectively, adolescents of senior school age and boys and girls who graduated from school ) was to highlight the relationship between the sexes as a complex moral, social and hygienic problem, to outline the basics of sexual hygiene , and prevention STDs , unplanned pregnancies and abortions , in moral and ethical issues and marriage hygiene . ^{[18] [19]}

The methodology of sexual education recognized that, starting from puberty, adolescents sought and affirmed their ideals ; were very critical, easily went into conflict with adults, often overestimated their own moral strengths, or, conversely, suffered from their imaginary flaws. The main motive for the behavior of an awakening woman gradually became the desire to please others, then the representatives of the male sex, the desire for empathy, for love and affection. To attract attention, the girls tried to improve their appearance with a fashionable hairstyle , clothes , and cosmetics . At the same time, increased interest in more accurate information about the "secrets" of love . ^[20] Boys affirmed their “I” under the motto “I can do anything like an adult” (including smoking, drinking alcohol , etc.), and began to look at the girls . Often, previous attachments to friends (for a girl ) and comrades (for boys ) gradually faded into the background. Young people sought to suppress unclear desires, but did not know how to do this, did not know how to find themselves in the company of peers of the opposite sex, often sought help and support from adults, but only on condition of their tact. The advice of parents and teachers regarding behavior was accepted with gratitude by boys and girls if they were not of the nature of an imperative or a ban (in this case, the ban was clearly or secretly violated). The ability of an adult to see the beautiful (in nature , art , work , man ), to make himself enjoyable for others, to respectful, carefully treat others, attracted the attention of a young man and influenced him. ^{[1] [21]}

Forces and methods of sex education

Sex education was carried out by parents in the family , medical workers and teachers (educators) in educational institutions (during training or extra-curricular activities) or production teams ( lectures , talks , brochures , popular science films , thematic evenings, etc.), registry offices , cultural and educational institutions and medical institutions ^[1] .

In the late 1980s, statistics on abortion in the USSR became known. It turned out that the USSR occupied one of the first places in the world in the number of abortions per number of children born. This is largely due to the lack of public awareness of contraceptive methods, although some contraceptives, such as condoms, were sold in pharmacies. The peak number of abortions occurred in 1964 - 5.6 million abortions, which was the highest in the entire history of Russia ^[22] .

In post-Soviet Russia, the number of abortions remains quite high. So, in 2006, 1 million 582 thousand abortions were registered. In addition, cases of teenage abortions became more frequent in Russia: out of about 1.5 million cases recorded in 2006, 10% were among girls under 19 years of age. In 2007, there were 27 abortions per 1000 abortions performed by girls aged 15-19 ^[23] . The number of teenage mothers has also increased: by 2002, out of 1,000 mothers in Russia, 30 were teenagers aged 15-19. There has also been an increase in the incidence of AIDS, especially among young people. The actual number of people living with HIV at the end of 2005 is estimated to be from 560 thousand to 1.6 million, most of them people who are 15-30 years old ^[24] .

All this can be explained by the absence in modern Russia of a sex education system adequate for current Russian conditions. General liberalization, freedom of the media, the press, Internet access, the trends of modern fashion and the values ​​of popular culture fuel the interest in sex and sexuality that is already characteristic of adolescents, and creates a feeling of absolute sexual permissibility, which was not the case in the USSR. At the same time, in secondary general education and secondary specialized educational institutions there is no universal comprehensive education program affecting both the biomedical aspects of sexual relations (pregnancy, the menstrual cycle, contraception, STDs , diseases of the reproductive system), and ethical, psychological and social aspects (moral responsibility in relationships, willingness to enter into relationships, awareness of one’s sexuality, family relationships). Not ready to engage in sexual education of children and parents. When the VTsIOM surveyed the population of the RSFSR in February 1991, only 13 percent of the respondents answered in the affirmative, “Did your parents talk to you about sex education?” 87 percent said no. Surveys of adolescents conducted in the late 90s and early 2000s gave similar results. Parents and teachers often find that sex discussions stimulate a teenager’s interest in sex and contribute to earlier sexual intercourse.

The famous Russian sexologist I. Cohn writes ^[25] :

The Ministry of Education requested and at the end of 1996 received financial assistance from the United Nations Population Fund to conduct experimental work for three years to prepare elements of a sex education course in 16 pilot schools, including training a group of teachers in order to further create the necessary country our own alternative programs that would not copy Western experience, but take into account the specifics of our culture. But before the project began, a political scandal erupted.

Using the mistakes of ministerial officials (they didn’t explain the project’s goals beforehand; at the same time, 5 alternative sex education programs were published by domestic authors without taking into account the age characteristics of children; the project itself did not have scientific guidance and the first questionnaire designed to find out that teenagers know about sexuality, contained a number of questions not relevant to the age of children), representatives of the conservative international organization Pro Life , from With a U.S. apartment fighting for the prohibition of abortion and contraception around the world, the RAPS and the Department of Education were accused of wanting not only to corrupt our innocent children, but also to achieve physical degeneration and extermination of the nation on instructions from Western intelligence agencies. This company was supported by some politicians and figures of the Russian Orthodox Church . Slanderous articles written according to the same template are published in different newspapers stating that RAPS is a “satanic organization”, safe sex is a way to debauchery, contraception is the same murder as an abortion, and that there is no information about sexuality for schoolchildren age should not be reported. Some members of the Russian Academy of Education also spoke in the same spirit, whose Presidium decided that Russia did not need sexual education, but moral education "with elements of sex education."

The conflict between sex education strategies is not unique to Russia. This is also true in some developing countries, as well as in the United States, where for the past 10 years a program of sexual education limited by abstinence has been very popular.

It should be borne in mind that in the Netherlands, where the sex education program (including information on contraception, the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and the formation of human sexuality ) has been included in the school curriculum since the elementary grades, the average age of the first sexual intercourse is not lower than and higher than in other countries. So, in the United States, teens have sex at about 16 years old, and in the Netherlands at almost 18 years old. The proportion of teenage birth in the Netherlands is also one of the lowest in the world (5 people per 1000). The percentage of HIV incidence is also low. For example, in the USA, 2.33 people are infected with HIV per 1,000 people, while in the Netherlands, 0.28 are HIV-infected ^[24] .

The sex education program is one of the factors that help solve the problems of teenage pregnancies, abortions and STDs. Other factors include the economic well-being of the country, the level of general culture, education, etc.