Sex education stuck in 2007

Sex education in New Zealand is no better than it was a decade ago – and students are being let down by a lack of education around consent, pornography and sexual violence, a new report shows.

In 2007, the Education Review Office (ERO) found the majority of schools were not effectively meeting students’ needs with sex education. Ma¯ori and Pacific students were being particularly let down, as were students with additional needs and students who were sex, gender or sexuality diverse. A decade later, it’s the same story.

Schools have kept their 2007 attitudes towards technology and social media, too.

The report noted that in the past decade, ‘‘the social and technological context around sexuality and sexuality education has shifted quickly and profoundly’’.

The quality of schools’ sexuality education programmes, however, ‘‘has not kept pace with this shift’’. One-fifth of schools included social media and the internet in their sex ed programmes. Despite high-profile conversations around sexuality and consent, the proliferation of porn and the rise of sexting, sex education has stubbornly revolved around the biology of sex. Anatomy, physiology and puberty were the most commonly covered topics.

Secondary schools also tended to cover gender stereotypes and diversity in sexuality but this was seen much less in primary schools. Sexual violence and pornography was addressed by fewer than half of secondary schools.

This is despite students wanting schools to be proactive in educating them about sexuality before social media does, said Dr Deirdre Shaw, ERO’s evaluation services group manager.

‘‘Students say they’re exposed to sexuality through the media and their peers but need the knowledge and skills to respond in a healthy way,’’ she said.

Associate professor Dr Katie Fitzpatrick, from Auckland University’s faculty of education, said some teachers ‘‘are underprepared and not confident’’ to address the issues of pornography and sexting with students.

‘‘Teachers have not had the support from the Ministry of Education nor from the Government to access professional development in these areas.’’

Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin said she was ‘‘deeply saddened’’ by the lack of improvement in the delivery of sexuality education over the past decade. ‘‘It’s disappointing because how students feel about themselves and their relationships, and how they keep themselves safe and make wellinformed decisions is really important to their wellbeing,’’ Martin said. ‘‘Some schools are clearly doing it well, so it isn’t impossible.’’

Michael Alexander, a school nurse who has worked in New Zealand and overseas, said ideally sex ed would be taught across three key areas – biology, sexual health, and relationships.

‘‘They need the biological side so they understand how conception works; they often don’t know the risk factors for their sexual health once they are sexually active; and relationships covers off trust and consent,’’ he said.

ERO visited 10 urban schools identified as having good practice in sex education and found they paid attention to the voices of their communities, and recognised ‘‘the importance of comprehensive sexuality education in supporting student wellbeing’’.

Within the report, humour was identified as a successful way to engage with Ma¯ori students. One teacher, from a large co-ed school, said in the report: ‘‘It’s a serious topic but you can laugh about it too. That makes them more open to talk.’’

‘‘The social and technological context around sexuality ... has shifted.’’ Education Review Office report