Sex lessons to prevent HIV/AIDS
Sex lessons to prevent HIV/AIDS
JAKARTA (JP): Leading AIDS advocates called yesterday for sex
education classes in schools so children can learn how to protect
themselves from the disease.
Legislator Nafsiah Mboi said sex education should make
children aware of the dangers of irresponsible sexual behavior.
She maintained that the classes would not be aimed at
encouraging premarital sex but rather help students understand
the virtues of abstinence.
The program should involve the government, educators, health
assistants and the community at large, Nafsiah, who is a
rapporteur for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the
Child, said.
"We could prevent HIV infection from spreading," she said.
"Once you get the virus, you'll have to use expensive medication
and often it's of no use."
She said providing basic education on the disease should begin
at a young age, even before children become sexually active.
The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by
the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Official figures indicate that 578 people reportedly suffer
from AIDS or are HIV positive. However, many experts believe the
true number is several times higher.
Speaking at a seminar on AIDS here yesterday, Nafsiah Mboi
said the increase in AIDS cases coincided with the rise of child
exploitation.
The United Nations estimated that by the end of 1996, some 2.6
million children were HIV carriers.
In Indonesia, a University of Indonesia survey team predicts
that by the year 2005, between 200,000 to 550,000 children will
lose their parents because of AIDS, she said.
Nafsiah admits that society still views sex education in a
negative light, believing that it will make children prone to
sexual activity.
Directorate General for Contagious Disease Control and
Settlement Environmental Sanitation Hadi M. Abednego said the
Ministry of Health was still searching for an appropriate
definition of "sex education", as most people perceive it as
merely lessons on sexual copulation. (09)