Johannesburg - To assist in teaching young people about consent and sexual health, leading anti-rape and sexual violence organisation, the TEARS Foundation, believes in transparency in sex education.
Despite the ongoing scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa, the foundation says sex education remains elusive in many schools, creating a desperate need for intervention.
With the many taboos still surrounding sex, it is suggested that youth understand subjects like consent and sexual health.
According to Mara Glennie, chief executive of the anti-rape and sexual violence organisation, there’s a lack of sexual education available to SA youth.
“There is currently a shocking lack of sex education available to South Africa’s youth. While the material is provided to teachers in their life orientation syllabus, it is among a variety of topics they can choose from. With the many taboos still surrounding sex, most teachers shy away from the topic. It’s not addressed by the parents and guardians either, leaving youth without the critical knowledge they need on topics like consent and sexual health,” said Glennie.
The foundation was created to enable and provide South African youth with sex education on their cellphones and assist users in making informed decisions about their sexual health.
“Last year, it was found that 10% of rape cases reported nationally stemmed from higher education institutions. If the youth are properly educated from an early age with tools like SPEAK UP®, we would hope to see a decrease in these numbers by providing them with the relevant information,” says Glennie.
Another national issue that it aims to address is teen pregnancy.
“Watching a young, underage child turn into a mother is heartbreaking. Children need to be children, not birthing them. It’s particularly devastating to learn that many of the girls who gave birth last year were barely teenagers.
“It is our hope that SPEAK UP® will challenge the youth to think critically about gender and about their role within their culture, community and society at large. While the information is mostly aimed at young people and youth-led and youth-serving organisations, we hope that it will also be useful to other organisations, volunteers and activists who want to begin or strengthen advocacy around improving sexual education across the world,” says Glennie.
The Star