Sex education can be an emotive subject, particularly as it concerns children and young people. It is an area that needs to be trodden on with great care and sensitivity.
Almost a third of young people stated that they did not know about sexual consent, according to a report from the National Children’s Bureau (‘Schools urged to teach about consent in sex education,’ www.bbc.co.uk, 8 January 2014). Furthermore, only 43 per cent had learned about what was ‘good and bad in a relationship.’ The researchers also found that one in three young people did not know or was unsure of where they were to get help if they were sexually assaulted.
There is also the pernicious practice of ‘grooming.’ The National Crime Agency warned that people who utilise ‘hook up’ apps to meet for casual sex were to ensure that their partner was above the age of consent (‘Warning to ‘sex app’ users to check age of consent,’ www.bbc.co.uk, 11 February 2014). The warning followed a rise of teenagers (1,061 in 2012-13) contacting the NSPCC’s helpline with bad experiences after downloading apps such as Grindr and Blendr. Although users are to confirm that they are of appropriate age (i.e. over 17 years-old), there is evidence that these terms and conditions are being circumnavigated resulting in young people being put at risk of serious harm.
In a disturbing survey commissioned for the BBC Three programme ‘Porn: What’s the harm?’ one in four respondents aged 16 to 21 years admitted to seeing pornography by the age of twelve, with 7 per cent encountering it whilst they were under 10 years-old (‘Online porn seen by one-quarter by age 12, survey says,’ www.bbc.co.uk, 10 April 2014). In the responses, 62 per cent stated that they first saw it ‘when they weren’t expecting to or because they were shown it by someone else.’ Only one in five women and four per cent of men had never seen online pornography.
Nearly three-quarters of the respondents believed online pornography affected men’s expectations, mostly because men expected women to behave like the women in porn films. Over half of those surveyed thought that online pornography affected what both young men and women expect from sex.
In their assessment about what is bad about pornography, 17 per cent of respondents thought that it was unrealistic whilst 12 per cent believed that it objectifies women.
The presenter of the programme, Jameela Jamil, commented; ‘I worry about the new generation of men whose first real introduction to sex is what they see on their laptop.’
She continued: ‘They think we are supposed to look, sound and move like that. What’s scarier is that I worry
young women are starting to think the same.’
Jesus warned us that what we see determines our character: ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!’ (Matthew 6: 22 – 23) He also lays great emphasis on those people who will cause children and young people to sin: ‘But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’ (Matthew 18: 6)
As Jesus saw the importance of protecting all aspects of the life of a child or a young person, we should also do through such measures as stringent safeguarding procedures. We will be held to account if any child or young person is ill-treated or abused, not only in the criminal courts, but also as we stand before the throne of God.
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