Canada: Teens Want to Discuss Pleasure, Not Just Sexual "Plumbing" -- Report

Information about healthy relationships and sexual pleasure is lacking in sex education curricula, Canadian teenagers said in a recently released report.

"Youth are telling us something very important. You can't separate the plumbing and sexually transmitted infections information from the emotional and relational information," said Alex McKay, research coordinator with the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada.

In non-school settings, the Toronto Teen Survey queried some 1,200 youths ages 13-18 on their perceptions of sex health information. Most were familiar with HIV/AIDS (78 percent), sexually transmitted infections (71 percent), and pregnancy and birth control (66 percent).

At the same time, only 42 percent of teens reported they had learned about sexual pleasure. And 10 percent, mostly older teenage recent immigrants who had missed mandatory sex education classes, said they had learned nothing at all.

McKay said the study results called for an "integrated comprehension" approach to sex education.

"Over the years, we have gotten a very clear sense from youth that while they appreciate concrete information on sexual health, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections, they have at the same time sensed a lack of attention and discomfort on the part of educators to focus on human relations," McKay said.

The study comes on the heels of an action that is viewed by some as curtailing the availability of sex education. The provincial Legislature in Alberta recently approved a bill that allows parents to withdraw their children from classes that deal with sexual orientation, sexuality or religion.

School-based programs are nevertheless effective in teaching sex education and are perceived in that light by teens, McKay said. Parents, too, are key in shaping their children's values and expectations: "It's not a battle between parents and schools," he said.

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