A Few Shades of Sex Ed

As we welcome sex education as a mandatory in British schools, many stories in the press call for further attention:

An article in Metro newspaper last Friday makes a point about focusing on pleasure, to emphasise the role of sex in human wellbeing as a whole.  

Financial Times urges sex ed to update its agenda and methods to address more effectively the so-called smartphone generation since, according to specialists, the different health choices made by children from different social backgrounds may be determined by their sense of time. The article also revisits previous policies adopted by the British government in sex education.

The Independent highlights a delicate and urgent angle: the sex education required to be offered to young offenders — there are around 1,000 children at any one time in youth custody in England alone. The article reinforces that a deeper understanding of sexual experience and educating about relationships must be part of the rehabilitation process, as it is successfully being carried out by young offenders’ institution Hydebank Wood College, in Belfast.