Comprehensive Sexual Education: Between Reality and Expectations
If I ask you what is common between: puberty, romantic relationships, sexual relations, STDs, unwanted pregnancies, and non-consensual sex, you might think of sexual education (or not) but let me tell you why you definitely should. Before I start, let me provide you, my dear reader, with a REALITY CHECK. In Morocco, in which sex outside wedlock is forbidden by Article 490 of the criminal law stating that:
‘All individuals of the opposite sex who are not related by marriage, and have sexual relations, are punished by imprisonment for one month to one year’
Premarital sex is omnipresent. This disparity between the legal fantasy and the actual lived reality is apparent when looking the mouth-dropping results of a study conducted by the AMPF on youth’s sexual practices. The study reports that 40% of youth between the age of 14 and 30 confirmed having had, at least, a sexual report. It should be stressed that the first sexual encounter is reported to be non-penetrative in 75% of the cases with an age range between 13 and 22. Having no intention to bore you nor confuse you with the statistics, I intend to display the expectation-reality discrepancy emphasizing three main points: (a) criminalizing premarital sex DOES NOT, by any means, mean that young people will abstain from sexual encounters, (b) children between the age of 13 and 18 get involved in sexual relations, and finally (C) young people will find ways of override the “virginity” social expectation imposed, mostly if not solely on girloroccs, by simply avoiding penetrative sex. These 3 ideas make asking the following questions, as well as finding their answers, indispensable. (1) If young people have sex regardless to legal or social constraints, where do they get their knowledge about sex? (2) How safe their practices are? Shedding light on the vitalness and necessitude of comprehensive sexual education, this article is but a shy attempt to answer these questions.
For the purpose of answering these questions, let us clarify first what is meant by comprehensive sex ed (CSE). In a UNISCO publication entitled International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education by the, CSE is defined as:
‘a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will empower them to: realize their health, well-being and dignity; develop respectful social and sexual relationships; consider how their choices affect their own well-being and that of others; and, understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout their lives.’
The Toolkit, further explain that CSE can be delivered in both formal and informal settings specifying 10 principles of CSE. We’ll briefly go through each of the principles. (1) the content should be scientifically accurate based on findings from research on sexuality and behavior, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). (2) It Incremental meaning a gradual and continuous process of knowledge building from an early age. (3) It is Age-and developmentally-appropriate accommodating to children’s cognitive, psychological, and developmental needs. (4) it is curriculum based; that is, a written material with clear learning objectives, delivery, and presentation. (5) it is comprehensive; providing opportunities to acquire comprehensive, accurate, evidence-informed and age-appropriate information on sexuality. It addresses SRH issues, including: sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology; puberty and menstruation; reproduction, modern contraception, pregnancy and childbirth; and STIs, including HIV and AIDS. CSE covers the full range of topics that are important for all learners to know, including those that may be taboo in some social and cultural contexts. (6) it is based on a human right approach promoting an understanding of universal human rights which encourages children and young people to know their rights and to respect those of others. (7) it is based on gender equality addressing the different ways that gender norms can influence inequality which in turn affect the overall health and well-being of children and young people. (8) it is transformative contributing to the building of cohesive communities with empowered individuals that are positively affecting their environment. In this sense, not only does CSE revolve around sex; rather, it builds critical thinkers who treat others with respect and tolerance regardless of their ethnicity, race, social, economic or immigration status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. (9) it develops life skills needed to support healthy choices guiding children to make informed decisions, to be assertive, and to communicate and negotiate effectively when navigating the social life. (10) CSE must be culturally relevant and context appropriate.
After showcasing what CSE is, it would be relevant to showcase what CSE is not. CSE is beyond a decontextualized course on anatomy, physiology, and reproduction. More importantly, a CSE curriculum goes beyond lessons in abstinence. It stems from the children’s needs that are determined by their socio-economical, physical, and psychological realities. On a more concrete footing; teaching learners that human beings have sexual organs, when inserted, result in pregnancy and wrapping up the course with something like “the best way to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STDs is by not having sex”, is by no means comprehensive. Supporters of abstinence-only-after-marriage programs (halal sex ed) might advocate that the panacea to all these problems lays within religious texts (Quran and Hadith). It can’t be denied that religious texts have a large amount of information governing sex and relationship between married couples. Islam; however, makes it clear that pre-marital sex is forbidden. With this in mind, it can’t be denied that a lot of children and young people will receive a form of sex education from both schools (in Islamic education courses) and religious institutions (Khutbah/sermon in mosques). But is it enough? Remember that although Morocco’s Muslim population is estimated to be 99% (with the third of the population ranging between 14 and 34 years old), 40% of this third engages in sexual activities. It seems; therefore, that children and young people “are not listening”. Instead of telling them not to have sex; hence, we should provide them with chance to comprehensively discuss sexuality while guiding them to the path of gradually learning about the different aspects of sexuality and how these can affect their decision-making processes.
Going back to our first question, there are other forms of what I like to call pseudo-sex-ed that are seriously worrying. It can’t be denied that kids will reach an age in which the topic of sex is discussed among friends (which is an expected stage especially when kids hit puberty). The issue is with the type of information discussed and its source. You might have guessed it already; pornography is one of the major sources. Most of the literature available on young people’s exposure to pornography and other sexually explicit media (SEM) is focused on the global North. A quick search using the keywords of ‘Moroccan youth exposure to porn’ gave me a dozen of porn websites with nauseating titles such as Moroccan Teens.
Although my intention was to find research and literature concerning youth pornography exposure in the Moroccan context, I thought it was very sad to see that in a country in which CSE is non-existent, content that sets maladaptive expectations of sex and relationships are one click away. Meaning, any kid or teenager with internet access can browse these websites convinced that s/he is “Looking at the real thing”. Research in psychology suggests that exposure to explicit content can have devastating effects on a teenager’s perceptions and attitudes towards consent, objectifications and their own bodies. These perceptions, however, are sensitive to sex and gender. While boys who are frequently exposed to pornography start to perceive girls (and women) as sex objects that can be used for pure physical pleasure. Girls, on the other hand, start to develop insecurities about their bodies since they compare themselves to the women they see in pornographic content. It is common that for both sexes; nonetheless, that unhealthy perceptions about consent are formed. In other words, teens get exposed to content in which forced sex and rape culture is dominant. With easy access to pornographic content, unawareness of the unrealistic nature of porn, an absence of CSE, Moroccan youth and children are put in an immense danger.
To answer second and last question, the AMPF study results suggest that the Moroccan youth have unsafe decisions about their sex partners, don’t systematically use prevention methods, and lack an awareness about the different types of STDs. Firstly, the study found that 12% of the participants had sexual encounters with sex workers. Which is very risky especially in Morocco in which sex work is not legalized and monitored. In other words, sex workers don’t have regular checkups to ensure that they are STD free. (I just wanted to clarify that I’m just trying to objectively report the conditions of sex workers with no intention to disrespect them as individuals). Secondly, the same study reports that only 50% of the participants used a condom during their last encounter. I speculate 3 different explanations behind this inconsistency in using condoms. Maybe because most of the encounters were non-penetrative, the parties involved thought that it wasn’t necessary to use a condom (thinking that non penetration equals no pregnancy while forgetting about the other health risks). Or maybe financial or circumstantial constraints blocked their access to purchasing condoms. An example of a circumstantial difficulty can simply be the shame and embarrassment associated with buying condoms from local pharmacies. Or simply, not being aware of the importance of preservative measures from the first place. All of these explanations stem from one source; the nonexistent CSE. Thirdly the study shockingly found that while only 46% of the participants knew what STDs mean, when asked to name the STDs they knew, 90% only could name AIDS. Which suggest that they have no idea about other STDs (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis etc.) nor their health risks. To wrap up the finding, 73% of the participants expressed the need to have access to sexual education. The practices of Moroccan teens and youth; thus, represent the epitome of what deprivation of the basic knowledge rights can do to a person.
Morocco is a country that has signed both of the 1960 UNESCO convention and the Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam. While the former emphasizes the equal right of all individuals to access different types and levels of education without any form of discrimination (Article 1), the latter stresses the fact that every child approaching puberty has the right to receive “proper sex education” (article 12). The need to create a balanced and comprehensive sexual education curriculum respecting the needs, the context, and the 10 principles is a societal obligation. Although this article raised more questions than it answered; I hope that by the time you reach this line, we both agree that introducing CSE is a prerequisite to bridging the gap between our realities and our expectations.
References :
Allen, L., 2006. “Looking at the real thing”: Young men, pornography, and sexuality education. Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education.
Belouas, A. (2022). Sexual education : what does the youth think?. La VIEéco. Available at: https://www.lavieeco.com/societe/education-sexuelle-quen-pensent-les-jeunes.
Bellouch, L., 2012. Islam: a source of inspiration to Moroccan law.
Cheney, K. et al. Oosterhoff, P., et al. 2017. Feeling ‘Blue’: Pornography and Sex Education in Eastern Africa. IDS Bulletin, Volume 48, Number 1.UK: Institute of Development Studies.
Flood, M. (2010) 'Young Men Using Pornography', in K. Boyle (ed.), Everyday Pornography, London: Routledge.
Goldfarb, E.S. and Lieberman, L.D., 2021. Three decades of research: The case for comprehensive sex education. Journal of Adolescent Health.
International technical guidance on sexuality education UNFPA 2018
Markovitz, H. (2013) How should sex education be taught in schools, ReferencePoint Press, Inc.
Office of international and religious freedom. (2019). Report on International Religious Freedom: Morocco. Available at: https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/morocco/
Oosterhoff, P., Müller, C. and Shephard, K., 2017. Sex education in the digital era.
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam, June 2005, OIC/9-IGGE/HRI/2004/Rep.Final.
Women, U.N. and UNICEF, 2018. International technical guidance on sexuality education: an evidence-informed approach. UNESCO Publishing.
About the author :
Ikram Ibba is an applied linguistics graduate student, an educationist, an aspiring researcher in the field of psycholinguistics, a Soliya coach, and she is now a participant in our #Women4Leadership program. As an educationist, Ikram believes in the great role of education in shaping and reshaping the women and men of the future. She asserts that young women from all socio-economical classes should have equal rights and opportunities in integrating the educational system; one that should play its role in eliminating inequalities, empowering the youth, and raising a generation that knows its rights and can defend it fiercely.
