In high school, I was part of a student committee that organized activities and meetings to help spread awareness of different global and social topics.

One of these activities was a Sexual Health Awareness Week, during the week of Valentine’s Day.

We would come into school early and set up a table with condoms, pamphlets and other pieces of information provided by Planned Parenthood for students to take.

We were all so excited about this day, as the idea was to promote information about sexual health and to lessen the stigma around sex.

While we had a fun time setting up, and had great feedback from students and teachers, I went to class the first morning and was surprised at the number of negative reactions many students had.

Several students said that it was inappropriate to “promote” sex in a school or joked that what we were doing was gross.

It was the first time I noticed the impact that the lack of sex education in schools can have on students.

‘We are teaching safety’

Most schools in Canada teach sex education as a part of the junior high health curriculum.

Planned Parenthood says that teaching sex education early can lead to an “. . . appreciation of sexual diversity, dating and intimate partner violence prevention, development of healthy relationships, prevention of child sex abuse, improved social/emotional learning, and increased media literacy.”

“Sex education does not only mean learning about sex, but also learning about consent.”

With the rise of social media, kids and teenagers are being exposed to sex earlier than in previous years.

This means it is crucial for kids to learn about consent and healthy relationships.

Sex education does not only mean learning about sex, but also learning about consent.

In 2023, Saskatchewan decided to cut back on its sexual education in schools.

However, Caitlin Cottrell, executive director of Saskatoon Sexual Health, said on CBC in an interview that “to provide comprehensive sexual education can be very difficult, especially spanning multiple grades, and that is very often why educators seek out our assistance . . . We are not teaching children how to have sex. We are not teaching children or youth about promiscuity. We are teaching safety.”

Child psychiatrist Tamara Hinz told CBC in the same article that there are “many studies that show strong correlations between the lack of sex education or poor quality sex education and rates of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted or teen pregnancies.”

Knowlege is power

A common way for most schools to teach students about sex is by having organizations present at schools.

In 2024, a sex education organization visited a New Brunswick school to deliver a presentation.

However, the presentation included slides reading, “Do girls masturbate?” among other topics.

Premier Blaine Higgs promptly banned the group from schools, saying that the presentation was “inappropriate” for high school students.

“I also think students need to be educated on these issues, by people who are knowledgeable on the topic.”

In a CBC article, however, it is revealed that he did not even see the presentation himself.

He told reporters “I was sent . . . the screenshot . . . I was never sent the entire presentation.”

I believe that it is important to have more knowledgeable people present on significant topics, such as safe sex, even if this means bringing up questions that some people find uncomfortable.

I think that a lot of the situation was due to miscommunication.

I also think students need to be educated on these issues, by people who are knowledgeable on the topic.

‘Create space for everybody’

I also believe that teaching sex education means including marginalized groups in teachings.

For instance, I believe that queer students should also have the opportunity to learn about safe sex that applies to them when their peers do.

Inclusive sex education is important because, not only does it educate students on their bodies, relationships and sexual health, it can familiarize students with concepts that are not often discussed.

In response to Manitoba protests about LGBTQ+ inclusive sex education, Jennifer McGowan, an assistant superintendent of student services, told CBC in a 2023 article, ” . . . if you’re coming to school and you don’t feel safe, you’re not learning much — so we need to create space for everybody to feel like they belong, because they do.”

When we teach people from a young age about their bodies, consent and healthy relationships, we are taking steps to try to ensure their safety and comfort.

Everybody should have access to learning about safe sex and relationships and the best way to teach this is when people are young so they are ready for a healthy and sex-positive future.