Sex education from the mouths of babes

Health, Beauty and Lifestyle with Denise McNamara

I remember having ‘the talk’ a year before menstruation as I was about to enter fifth class and my twin sisters were embarking on their final year of national school. Sitting down beside us in the garden while enjoying the endless summer sunshine, my mother revealed the horrifying details about periods, showed us sanitary pads and then issued the very stern advice about staying away from boys as we could get pregnant once we started having them.

I don’t recall any detail about how this could happen and the leap from bleeding every month to carrying a baby seemed enormous, but there were no questions asked. We were mortified to even be discussing it.

If only there had been a book like Sex Educated around. The imagination would certainly not have run as wild.

It is written by relationships and sexuality educator Grace Alice O’Shea on behalf of Sexual Health West, a charity that has been delivering workshops to young people through the West of Ireland Sexuality Education Resource (WISER) for over 30 years.

All information in the book is inspired by questions put by young people in the workshops, where they are encouraged to ask questions openly or write them down anonymously.

“Receiving and answering questions has arguably beenthe most important part of our work. Each year, they have given us a unique and invaluable insight into the minds of young people,” reveals Grace.

“Talking about sex does not encourage young people to rush out and have sex. Talking openly and honestly about sex supports the unlearning of unhelpful and harmful beliefs around sex and shame. It empowers young people to make decisions based on accurate information and compassion, and to advocate for themselves, their bodies, their wellbeing and their relationships.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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