viernes, 15 de enero de 2016

Sexual education in Costa Rica and facts

Sexual Education in Costa Rica and facts
By: Jean Pierre Baudrit

The sexual education must be taught to a very early age on teenagers in order to build and create conscience over the consequences and the risk for unprotected relationships and undesired pregnancies. Different studies had shown that teenagers begin to have sexual intercourse at a very young age. This essay argues the importance of having better sex education in schools, which different governments have postponed several times. This essay also remarks, that good sexual education will considerably reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), and improve life’s quality for the young population in the country.
A study (Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention in San Jose, Costa Rica: Assessment of an Educational Intervention)  by Alexandra Devin Mainiero, at the University of Connecticut Health Center concludes: “Students overall exhibited a lack of understanding of important sexual health information, such as the efficacy of coitus interruptus and the rhythm method, and the ability to detect sexually transmitted infections. Specific groups of students, notably males and sexually active adolescents, expressed uncertainty in their ability to tell a partner they did not want to have sex or to insist on using contraception.
Finally, half of sexually active adolescents do not use adequate contraception, thus putting themselves at high risk for pregnancy.” This reflects clearly the real risk and status of the teenagers towards the lack of sexual education and sexually transmitted diseases.
As Juan Camilo Saldarriaga commented, Teenage pregnancy is a major concern in Costar Rica with an alarming numbers as of 1400 teenagers getting pregnant per year. One of the programs where he had gotten involved is the sexual and reproductive rights program of the Costa Rican Demographic Association (ADC). Saldarriaga comments, “Conservative groups in the government hold considerable power and some in the ruling party have opposed sexual and reproductive rights. As a result of this young people's sexuality, especially young women's sexuality, is an issue that is not openly discussed. This is what we want to change”.
The project intends to eradicate the old practices and not updated thoughts from teacher’s formation into more one and one conversations with their students, without acting based on their personal moral or religious values. This will provide positive results, as the student will feel more confident to trust experiences and share any interrogations that she/he might have towards this concern.
Furthermore, the results provide by an investigation on Harvard Medical School by Margaret Soper on “Exploring teen pregnancy and sexual education with adolescents, and mothers of
adolescents, in Guadalupe, Costa Rica: A rapid health assessment using qualitative
methods”, on Part 1 concludes that:
 1. Teen pregnancy results into girls that were not physically ready for the birth.
 2. One out of ten young girls (teenagers) does not have kids.
Among other topics cover, there are positive conclusions for their kids to receive sexual education to avoid committing the same mistakes. This thoughts are creating a really difference in the way the young population is now acting and thinking, which give a clear message that it requires something different and an open mind to improve the knowledge and the quality of life.
However, the whole responsibility on this area of education falls into the Public Education Ministry (MEP). This ministry had been introducing in the past eight years a curriculum for this subject on high schools in order to prevent teenage pregnancy and at the same time to reduce the number of students that give up their studies for this reason (Brenda Sotelo, 2013). The main challenge that this institution had found is the opposition of parents and religious groups (mainly Catholics and Evangelists members) which claim that the best sexual education is to avoid any kind of guide or knowledge and the abstinence until marriage. Therefore, the results will create misunderstandings and confusions, as well as the teenagers at some point (based on human nature’s curiosity) will begin to feel an urgency to explore their sexuality and it will become a total high risk having this curiosity without information at all. Sotelo states “Costa Rica has one of the largest teen-pregnancies numbers in the world. MEP is working on furthering young people’s knowledge on sexuality by exposing students to the material continually throughout their education. The country is known as a pioneer when it comes to exploring and addressing new controversial educational material, and they are finally advancing in the subject of sexual comprehension and education”. Therefore, the project implemented has become a success on the preliminary results.
The mistakes and misinformation that had affected in the past to Costa Rican population had been identified by different groups on the country and by the sector affected on the society (teenager and young adults). There are still many improvement areas, such moral and religious values implemented on the society many years ago. However by the concern exposed before, and the actions and programs executed by nonprofit foundations and government institutions is clearly helping to reduce risks and teenager pregnancy scores to be reduce. While the sexual education had been postponed for many years on this country, it is remarkable to point out that actions had been taken, as a country the concern had been planted, and the efforts are clearly helping the population.




Reference list.


  •      Soper, Margaret; Tristán, Mario (November 2004). Exploring teen pregnancy and sexual education with adolescents, and mothers of adolescents, in Guadalupe, Costa Rica: A rapid health assessment using qualitative methods. Retrieved from: http://www.ihcai.org/soperfinalreport.pdf




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