Our interest in the Years 11-13 (Phase 5) Health curriculum is related to sex and relationships education. We believe that good quality, age and developmentally appropriate sex and relationship education is vital to equip young people with the tools, knowledge and language to make informed choices. The curriculum should enable them to be clear about personal boundaries, understand appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, make safe choices, and be critical of misleading and inappropriate messages about sex in the media and in easily available internet pornography.
Our feedback only relates to the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Sexual Relationships strands of the Years 11-13 (Phase 5) Health curriculum.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
The knowledge section of Y11 uses the phrases “biologically male” and “biologically female” to discuss experiences of ejaculation and menstruation. There are no mentions of the relationship between gender and sex, or innate variations of sex characteristics. The use of these phrases is unnecessary in this document, as well as being biologically imprecise, and should be removed.
The prominence of “abstaining from sexual intercourse” in Year 11 to prevent “unplanned pregnancy” and STIs is an area of concern for us. The overwhelming majority of public health research into abstinence-centric framing of sex education, from around the world, has shown the strategy to be ineffective in its efforts to reduce teen pregnancies and the spread of STIs. There is also no inclusion in the material of different forms of sex, like anal, oral and vaginal, and the knowledge sections seem to only consider heterosexual sex.
The Year 12 content is focused on fertility, but fails to mention cervical cancer, HPV screening, or vaccines in the context of fertility and prevention of STIs. The focus on fertility has the potential to give rise to important ethical discussions and allow for teaching of the importance of science and evidence-based medicine but, because the content is fragmented across different strands, the content is instead reduced to just biological functions.
There is no inclusion of pleasure, the role of the orgasm, or brain chemistry. Although pleasure is mentioned in Year 12, under sexual relationships, it is not connected to sexual and reproductive health. We think that it’s important for students to be given a holistic view of sex and pleasure, to allow them to better navigate the complexity of their relationships.
Sexual relationships
Year 11 knowledge frames unsafe and unhealthy behaviours as a breach of person rights, but does not include any discussion of criminal behaviours or ethical considerations. It also fails to reference the perpetrators of these unhealthy behaviours, and there is no mention of gender-based violence. Although there is a reference to getting out of unsafe relationship situations, there is no content to address the perpetrators of violence. There is also no information for victims on how to access support. All of this information is important to help students understand their rights and responsibilities when it comes to coercion, gender-based violence and toxic behaviours.
In Year 11 knowledge there is a statement that most New Zealand teenagers have not had a sexually intimate relationship (or “had sex”) before the legal age of consent (16 years). Awareness of the age of consent is important, but this statement is poorly phrased. People who have experienced sexual abuse, as well as young people who have been sexually active, may feel unfairly judged by this statement. We feel that creating an awareness of the age of legal consent alongside information and discussion about grooming and coercion would be a more healthy and inclusive way to discuss this topic.
There is only minimal reference to consent in Year 11, and minimal reference to pleasure in Year 12, both of which are important parts of healthy sexual relationships that we think should be included in both the “sexual relationships” and “sexual and reproductive health” strands.
As Humanists, we want to see a curriculum that equips young people with the critical thinking skills, scientific literacy, and ethical tools they need to navigate our modern world. We hope the Ministry is able to align this curriculum with evidence-based international best-practice when it comes to sex education, so that it serves the best interests of today’s diverse youth in New Zealand.