The views expressed below do not necessarily reflect the views of teenAGE or the Jamaica Observer. 

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The last known immaculate conception was over 2000 years ago and we are still playing hush hush with sex. While we acknowledge that it isn’t the best idea for the younger members of our society to be copulating, we fail to acknowledge that sex is natural, inevitable and necessary for the maintenance of a species. Humans are curious creatures, especially when they are young and anxious to see what the world really has to offer. We are the most vulnerable then. That is exactly why keeping sexual discussions taboo is damaging. It does young people a disservice. 

Ignorance is not bliss. Telling a young person not to have sex or that certain sexual acts are “bad” is not enough. What young people really need is information. When you have information, you can make sensible decisions. Sexual education is actually a serious matter. When efforts are made to inform young persons about sex and safe sex practices, it usually stops at “pinch, leave an inch and roll”. Yes, using protection is important (considering the possibility of pregnancy and all the diseases waiting on the unsuspecting). However, there is more to be said. 

A large part of the discussion should involve the mental aspect. From very early, everyone should understand how sex is related to emotional relations, their sexual rights. Without all of these things being thoroughly discussed and understood, many individuals grow up close-minded, naïve and unable to make healthy and appropriate sexual choices in the future. 

Persons will say “sex anuh pickney ting”, but every day wasted when it comes to educating young people, is another day that they remain in a vulnerable and malleable state, easily susceptible to false information spread by peers and manipulation from individuals with bad intentions. Young people are the future of our nation, isn’t it best to have them informed? An informed future is inevitably a brighter one.