ONE IN THREE RP COUPLES DON'T KNOW BIRDS FROM THE BEES - OFFICIAL
MANILA, March 2, 2005 (STAR) (AFP) - As many as 30 percent of couples in the Philippines are unaware that having sex can result in babies, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said Tuesday."They do not know how pregnancy happens," even though some of them have had numerous children already, Dayrit remarked.
The discovery was the result of field studies by health workers who went door-to-door to determine population control program awareness, Dayrit said in remarks released here.
He did not say how many couples in the mainly Roman Catholic nation were surveyed.
The field workers found that in many of these cases, the couples believed the children were simply gifts from God.
"Often times people do things even if they dont understand why they do it," Dayrit said, attributing the ignorance over sex to the conservatism of Philippine society.
"A lot of it is cultural because people dont talk about sex," he said, remarking that "knowledge is often tempered by values. And if the values are such that they will reject knowledge theres nothing you can do," he added.
The government is promoting a door-to-door campaign for population control in this country of 84 million people but the Catholic church, which counts about 80 percent of the population as followers, has been actively opposing the campaign.
Sex education in elementary school proposed By Sheila Crisostomo The Philippine Star 03/02/2005
Okay, elementary school students: it’s time to learn about reading, writing and… sex education?
Health experts said yesterday that the best time to start teaching children about sexual education is in the elementary curriculum, dispelling fears that this would promote promiscuity.
Dr. Lyraruth Chua, former president of the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, said that basic anatomy should be taught in elementary school, along with the "concept of sexual harassment."
"It should be a combination of the physical and socio-psychological aspects. The children should be taught to resist if, for instance, someone touches their body. They should know if they’re being abused or not," she told a health forum recently.
Chua added that children’s ability to understand such concepts should not be underestimated because awareness — rather than ignorance — is the best weapon against abusers.
"They easily forget those things that are irrelevant to them. But those that are relevant are retained. It’s actually a continuing process. In high school, a different level of education should be maintained," she said.
Earlier, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit claimed that ignorance about the human reproductive system prevailed among many provincial couples that were surveyed by health workers for the Department of Health (DOH) "Ligtas Buntis" program.
Dayrit said the health workers’ surveys revealed ignorance on basic questions of how babies are formed. He noted that such ignorance often leads to unwanted pregnancies and should be immediately addressed.
But sex education is a touchy subject in the largely Catholic Philippines, where even President Arroyo’s administration stops short of discussing — let alone advocating — birth control measures.
According to Dr. Sylvia Claudio, a psychologist and board chairman of the non-government organization Linangan ng Kababaihan Inc. (Likhaan), it is not true that early exposure to sexual information leads to promiscuity.
Claudio noted that she started talking about the subject to her own three children at the age of six. As a result, she said, they grew up to be responsible adults.
She did not specify how much sexual information would be appropriate to teach elementary-level students.
She claimed that, by high school, students are ready for more "graphic and detailed" information, provided that they are also taught about responsible sexuality and values.
She maintained that sexual education could actually help prevent the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. "They should be taught about equality between men and women and respect for their partners," she said.
"Sex education can actually help postpone (sexual activity) because they are not mystified by it," she said. "Sex is something that adults do and enjoy so the young ones could want it more, unless they know about the consequences."
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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