Sex education is still considered a taboo subject to be given to children and adolescents. Parents and adults feel uncomfortable and reluctant when children and teenagers ask questions relating to sex and choose to change the subject or tell them if they will find out by themselves as adults. By not giving answers about sex properly, correctly and clearly to children and adolescents, this will cause new problems in the community. Physical and hormonal changes in adolescents during the transition from children to adolescents, making them feel curious about what is happening with their bodies.
Even though sex education is the knowledge that contains everything related to:
1. Anatomy of the human body
2. Human reproduction system
3. The conception process until pregnancy
4. Healthy sexual relations
5. Sexual behavior
6. Transmission of sexual diseases such as HIV / AIDS
Sex education also teaches about the development of genitals and physical changes in women and men such as menstrual processes and wet dreams in men, which sometimes teens are too shy to ask their parents until they find out themselves through a search engine on the gadget each of them or ask their friends who are not infrequently they get the wrong information and not right.
So, what are the benefits of sex education for children and adolescents?
1. Can provide true and clear information about body development during the transition of children to adolescents
At this time there are some physical changes in adolescents, such as increasing height or weight, changes in voice or growth of Adam’s apple in the male or breast size or menstruation in women. This sometimes makes teens feel uncomfortable and lack confidence, this is where the role of parents to explain that all the changes are normal in the transition from children to adults and they do not need to feel worried and not confident with these changes.
2. Can prevent teens from having free sex
By being taught values about sexual activities that should be carried out by people who are already legitimate as husband and wife according to religion and country, this will make teens choose not to have sex outside of marriage because the reproductive organs are not yet fully grown in adolescence and are not ready mentally them.
3. Can prevent violence and sexual harassment by realizing that they must respect and care for their body.
By providing sex knowledge that is accompanied by religious and moral values, teenagers can understand the concept of respecting their bodies and other people’s bodies by not touching or harassing others.
4. Can prevent abortion due to pregnancy out of wedlock
The average maternal mortality rate reaches 228 per 100,000 live births and from that number, the death due to abortion reaches 30%. The abortion was carried out by women, mostly teenagers aged 15-19 years with a rate of 78% in urban and rural areas at 40%. The IDHS added if 48% of the total national marriages were performed by children under the age of 18.
5. Can prevent marriage at an early age
The results of the National Social and Economic Survey in 2016 recorded that 1 in 9 girls in Indonesia was married under the age of 18 years and from that number only 1 in 9 girls continued their education again. The survey revealed that more than 60% of child marriages in Indonesia ended in divorce after 1 year of marriage and this divorce was caused by the unpreparedness of children or adolescents in building a household. Almost all marriages occur on the grounds of pregnancy out of wedlock.