Experts call for sex education in China's curriculum to lessen STDs and unwanted pregnancies. (Photo : Getty Images)
China should deliver sex education in the classroom says health experts in order to combat misconceptions and outdated ideas that could lead to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
On Wednesday, a report from China Daily revealed intense discussions about sex education in the classroom over the Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo.
According to the outlet, the debate was sparked after campaigners slammed a sex education textbook claiming that premarital sex has "tremendously negative psychological and physical impact on girls."
"Girls do not earn more love from boys by sacrificing their bodies, but rather are seen as 'degraded' by their 'conquerors'. As a result, premarital sex can cause women to lose love," the book stated.
Since 2004, around 2,000 copies of the textbook published by the 21st Century Group have already been released to schools in the southeastern province of Jiangxi in China.
China Daily noted that sex cannot be openly discussed since time immemorial and remains a taboo topic even in these modern times, the ignorance of the matter leading to the spread of STDs, unwanted pregnancy, and sexual abuse
This is why experts believe that sex education should be incorporated in the Chinese school curriculum in a way that is age-appropriate with all necessary medically accurate information included.
"It's really needed, especially to combat child sex abuse, rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies," Chengdu University Psychology professor Gou Ping explained.
She further elaborated that adding sex education to the curriculum will provide the students with the necessary knowledge to make the right decisions about relationships and promote abstinence and disease prevention in the long-run.
According to a July report from the Global Times, the current sex education taught in the classroom has no standard material and varies from one school to another.
The courses tackling the matter is also optional and is described only as a psychology course which makes those who take it quite surprised when they found out that the classes were all about sex and reproduction.
