How do you put on a condom, how do you prevent an STD, how do you use the contraceptive pill, how do you say 'No' when your friend wants to sleep with you and you are not ready, what problems can you face during pregnancy bump?
All these questions are addressed in a playful way and in role plays during a workshop of five sessions, given by students from Thammasat University.
The workshop Wairoon Mai Jued Chued Cheewit Tong Yued Yaw (For Teens' Colorful And Prolonged Life) was developed by Plan (Thailand) in collaboration with the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at Thammasat University. Pupils aged 13 and 14 from the Suankularbwittayalai Rangsit school attended the workshop.
Jittrenuch Puangyod, 14, thinks it's a good idea that classes are taught by students between the ages of 21 and 22 and not by teachers. "When a teacher does that, we feel intimidated and afraid to ask questions," she says. "Activities like this make me feel more comfortable learning about sex."
But parents are the best advisor, she thinks. “Parents have a lot of experience and are concerned about their children. So when we have problems about something in our lives, I think we should be with our parents first.'
But that's easier said than done. Many parents will tell their daughter that she is too young for a boyfriend and resist teen sex. And they are not very enthusiastic about sex education at school either.
"A number of adults view sex education as something that encourages children to have sex," says Mantana Tienchaitat, one of the Thammasat students. 'But it's not like that at all. Sex education gives children useful knowledge about sex and relationships, such as how to turn down a guest who wants to have sex. Or how to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancy.'
And the latter does not hurt because compared to other countries, Thailand has a high number of teenage pregnancies. But after learning to put on a condom on a cucumber (see photo), you should be able to prevent that.
(Source: bangkok mail, March 5, 2013)
Good, good information about reproduction, physical and mental development and (safe!) sex is very important. My girlfriend never learned anything at school about sex or herself, but about in which period of the monthly cycle it is easiest / more difficult to get pregnant. It wasn't until 10 years ago in college that she learned about masturbation after she had already had unsafe sex with her boyfriend, and only then started using the pill (no condom, that boyfriend didn't want that). Good information limits the risks, I understand that it is somewhat sensitive for the elderly. Young people will already be freer thanks to the internet, but there is also a risk (weird or far-reaching films between normal films). And I believe that a student breaks the ice more easily than an “old geek” , talking to someone who is 30 or more years older than such a teenager is a bit (extra) uncomfortable.