By Myrrhanda Keam
Immaculata high school is changing its sexual education program to target younger students after recent studies tied a lack of knowledge to a rise in sexually transmitted infections.
A pilot project planned for this spring will be aimed at Grade 9 and 10 students, says John Podgorski, co-ordinator of religious and family life education with the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board.
He and colleague Brad Moleski created the new program.
“We realized that what we were teaching in grade 12 needed to be taught a lot sooner,” says Podgorski.
Issues such as the consequences of early sex, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), intimacy, and sexual orientation will be discussed more explicitly in what will be about a 25-hour curriculum. Pending approval, it will be fully implemented next school year.
“Parents are concerned about their kids’ behaviour,” says Podgorski. “I’m proud we’re addressing a real need.”
This alarming behaviour shows some youth don’t fully know the risks of STIs. Last month, a study by the Canadian Association for Adolescent Health found that despite having had multiple sexual partners, one-in-four teens did not use a condom the last time they had sex.
The online survey, done with the help of Ipsos-Reid, suggests many teens are uncomfortable talking about sex. And less than one-in-four high school students say sex education in schools is very useful.
Schools are partly to blame for risky sexual habits in youth, says Alex McKay, a researcher with the Sex Information Education Council of Canada.
“They teach youth the seven steps to proper condom use, but that’s on the side of the condom box,” he says. “The hardest part is how to talk to your partner about the importance of using condoms.”
Immaculata focuses family life studies on helping students develop good decision-making skills, says Lisa Carroll, the school’s head of physical education.
“We understand teen sex is a reality,” says Carroll. “But we try to promote abstinence over birth control.”
Still, many youth are using birth control, says McKay.
Teen pregnancy is at an all-time low because teens are afraid of it, but they don’t realize they’re also at risk of infection, he explains.
“There’s a lot missing from the current sex education programs,” he says. “Not enough time is devoted to it, and teachers are not well trained.”
The responsibility to educate youth about sex doesn’t just belong to teachers, says Orhan Hassan, who works for Ottawa Public Health as the program manager for the Healthy Sexuality and Risk Reduction program.
The city works with Planned Parenthood on the Get the Test campaign, which encourages people to include an STI test in their regular health checks.
Also, their Insight Theatre is put on in high schools to teach youth about healthy sexuality and relationships.
Youth need to know that using the pill does not replace condoms, says Hassan. They are needed even during oral sex.
Teens don’t realize between 50 and 70 per cent of people with STIs are not aware they are infected, he says. And many students in Grades 9 to 12 still think HIV is curable.
Hassan says these programs are just the start of what needs to be done to ensure frightening trends don’t continue.
“We need to work together to support teens right at their sexual debut,” he says. “That’s when they really need support and information.”