NGO: Without proper sex education, students turn to porn, peers, media

A recent report by the Silver Lining Foundation (SLF) says secondary school students are turning to pornography, peers and media sources to get information about sex.

The revelation was made on Wednesday as the foundation released its 2019 National School Climate Survey Report, which looked at bullying and gender-based violence in secondary schools.

To compile the report, 2284 students from 39 secondary schools across Trinidad and Tobago were surveyed.

Without access to proper sex education, the report said, 46 per cent of students relied on peers for information about sex, while 45 per cent used various media sources and 30.7 per cent viewed pornography.

There is no formal sex education in secondary schools, but most students are open to the idea: 52.4 per cent of students want it and 15.3 per cent don’t.

But for sex education to be effective, the foundation’s report calls for it to be done in an environment in which students feels comfortable to speak freely.

The report said, “For sex education to truly be empowering, it should not be limited only to specific pre-defined sets of information.

“It should be open to allowing young people to develop their own themes and priorities; offer a multitude of perspectives; (and) utilise different strategies for sexual knowledge-building, including learning by doing and online learning.

“In other words, sex education needs to respond to the reality of young people’s sexual experimentation by allowing them to be honest and open in their seeking of knowledge and guidance.”

If sex education is not approached the right way, the report said, it can have the opposite effect by leading them to continue to hide potentially dangerous practices.

For example, the report noted a similar study was done in 2017. In it, the foundation found there were students who were unsure if sexual experiences they had had were a form of molestation or rape.