Sex education, priority in young people

Mexico, DF, (CIMAC) .- Quality sexual education should be a priority issue on the Mexican government's agenda, since "beliefs" persist in the country. prohibit the exercise of sexual rights of youth, "myths" that distance them from information and expose girls and adolescents to unwanted pregnancies, Vivianne Hiriart , author of the book "Contraceptives what you need to know ".

Hiriart, a psychologist specializing in sexuality issues for more than 15 years, said in an interview that the authorities should take "seriously the sex education , since it is as important as anatomy and civics classes, is an essential subject ", which allows girls, adolescents and women to choose the time to be mothers and avoid Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

And, according to the 2009 National Health and Nutrition Survey, one in six births in the country in that year, the mother was under 19 years of age and also in that period, 695 thousand 200 teenage pregnancies were calculated.

Of the more than 22 million Mexican teenagers, half start your sex life at 14 years of age, which increases the rates of STIs.

In this regard, the author of "Contraceptives, what you need to know" , published this year by the publishing house Raya in the Water, mentioned that although in 2008 (previous to the Seventeenth International Conference on AIDS, which was held in Mexico), the country made an "important effort" to include in textbooks the issue of sex education, this was not enough.

An exhibition is not enough to make contraceptive methods known, it is necessary that teaching staff expose about contraception and STI prevention, from the sexual and reproductive rights approach.

 

Myths must be broken

This vision is essential to break myths and beliefs that prohibit the exercise of sexuality, especially for young people and adolescents, because even when they know that contraceptive methods exist, they do not use them or they misuse them because, in addition to ignoring that these are part of their sexual and reproductive rights, they think that the risk of pregnancy and STIs is lower.

About 85% of women who have sex without using contraceptions get pregnant in the first year, mentions Vivianne Hiriart.

According to the specialist, informing and educating about the use of contraceptive methods allows them to decide how they want to exercise their sexuality, and may even postpone the first sexual relationship. It also allows young people and adolescents to demand respect for this right and "invites men to become more involved in the choice of method, as a shared responsibility".

This fact allows to advance in the construction of a more equitable society between women and men, since "beliefs persist as the use of contraceptives is the responsibility of women," said the expert, in an interview. "There are advances, men participate more, in urban areas, with a more informed population, although there is still a long way to go to assume that it is a shared responsibility," Vivianne Hiriart acknowledged.

In this sense, "Contraceptives what you need to know "It is a text that informs in a clear and simple language about contraceptive methods that are in the market, and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each so that each person or couple choose the best one for them or them.

The writing is geared towards women and men young people or for anyone who wants to know more about the use of contraceptive methods, such as teachers and mothers and fathers.


Video Medicine: Making it a Priority: Adolescents’ Health and Rights (March 2024).