Sex Education for Youth- A Must for Everyone

Sex education is the process of imparting relevant information and knowledge about sex, human sexual anatomy, reproduction, intercourse and other human sexual behavior. Today’s young generation is having a very dynamic life style which makes them the most vulnerable section of the society. They are the ones who are most prone to get affected by the prevailing dangers. It will not be logical and reasonable to leave them on their own and to have all of their misconceptions and queries solved by their own experiences only. This will only aggravate the situation. Hence there is a dire need for sex education in youth.

Characteristics of effective sex education: The sex education provided to youth must include the following key points:
1. Health care and preventive resources.
2. All the development processes experienced by an individual including psychological, physiological and sociological processes.
3. To have an insight into the influences of family, friends, companions and community on healthy sexual life.
4. Understanding the importance of relationships and to make an effort for the development of meaningful relationships only.
5. To reduce health risks by developing effective intrapersonal and interpersonal communication skills.

Advantages of sex education: There are numerous advantages of imparting sex education in youth like
1. It reduces the dangers of illicit sexual behavior.
2. Prevents negative outcomes like unwanted pregnancies.
3. Prevents the spreading of AIDS and other potentially harmful sexually transmitted disease (STD).
4. Helps to have a better understanding of relationships.
5. Helps to maintain an identity of an individual.
6. Makes the youth aware of their rights and actions that can be taken by them if someone has exploited them sexually.
7. Helping the youth to understand their sexuality.
8. Arms them with knowledge to have a safe life and enjoy their sexuality.

Other important aspects:
1. It is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their child is aware of all the important facts and aspects of sexual behavior. They play a key role in this movement of sex education.
2. Teachers are the second most important key players who play a major role in the success of this cause. It is their responsibility to provide all the information in a structured and understandable format to their students.

Sex education in youth has always been a topic for debate. But now is the time to take some actions otherwise the situation will be out of control in the coming years. Sex education is the need of the hour and instead of being orthodox we should take an initiative in the right direction.