Promoting proper education on human rights
Sexuality is an important issue for humans that affects their way of life and personality. Human rights-based sexual education is necessary to create a sexual culture rich in humanity and to cultivate the ability to build fruitful human relationships. In a society filled with distorted sexual information due to pornography, learning about equality between the sexes and appropriate knowledge about sex from the standpoint of protecting human rights as mentioned above is one effective way to prevent sexual impoverishment.
What is comprehensive sex education?
There is a strong demand for the practice of "comprehensive sexuality education" that considers sexuality from the perspectives of science, human rights, and independence and coexistence, and can be addressed comprehensively not only in schools but in various situations in life.
Comprehensive sexuality education is sexuality education that aims to develop sexual self-determination abilities that are effective in choosing sexual behavior in all aspects of life, and aims for a practical direction that is the polar opposite of ascetic/moralistic sexuality education. Comprehensive sexuality education has several core pillars, such as the following:
1. Respect the human rights and equality of ourselves and others and foster a culture of peace.
2. Provide multifaceted sexuality education that is in line with children's stages of sexual development
3. Developing children's sexual self-esteem and sexual self-determination
4. Learn about specific issues such as sexual health, contraception, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, childbirth, sex trafficking, and sexual violence.
5. Respect the human rights of sexual minorities and learn about sexual diversity
6. Promote appropriate care and support for children who have been sexually abused and those who deviate from sexual norms.
From this perspective, pornography, which portrays women as objects to gratify sexual desires, can be said to be the polar opposite of the view of sexuality and womanhood that comprehensive sex education aims to foster.
Towards human rights-based sex education for each generation
According to a survey of high school students, between 1990 and 2008, the rate of sexual intercourse among third-year high school students rose sharply from one in five to half, and of those who had had sexual intercourse, approximately 30% had not taken the necessary precautions to "prevent sexually transmitted diseases and contraception."
The high number of children who have experienced sexual victimization and perpetration is also a serious problem. Rather than unilaterally suppressing sexual behavior from a moral standpoint, it is necessary to improve children's ability to respond to sexual violence in their own neighborhood, prevent victimization, and stop them from perpetrating acts. It is also important to guarantee the "right to learn about sex" according to the developmental stage.
For example, in early childhood, children should be able to say "No!" to things they don't like and to value their own and others' bodies and minds. Elementary school students should understand genitals and excretory organs, learn about equality between the sexes, and be able to consult a trusted adult about physical problems. Junior high school students should learn specifically about issues such as sexual intercourse, contraception, and sexual violence, and be able to prevent infectious diseases and control sexual behavior. High school students should develop the ability to make sexual decisions for themselves and improve their ability to select and reject sexual information. University students and above need opportunities to correctly understand sexual diversity, guarantee sexual human rights, and learn about a culture of peace.
Furthermore, from a certain age (for example, upper elementary school), children must be guaranteed the opportunity to understand the problems associated with pornography and learn how to prevent it.