OH, STOP BEING SO CHILDISH!

Sex education for all pupils 'needed to fight STD epidemic' (Gaby Hinsliff, Amelia Hill and Jo Revill, The Observer, March 20th, 2005)

Britain's soaring rates of sexually-transmitted diseases means that sex education should be made compulsory for all pupils, according to one of the most influential reports on the issue of the nation's sexual health.

Too many children are taught the basics of biology but not the emotional and social skills to help them handle sexual relationships, according to the Commons committee report.

Fear of a backlash from religious schools and traditionalist parents have so far led ministers to resist pleas to make so-called Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) - covering concepts such as self-esteem, resisting peer pressure, negotiating over contraception and protecting against disease, alongside sexual mechanics - a statutory part of the timetable. They argue that heads and governors should be free to choose what it is taught.

But the report from the all-party Health Select Committee warns that amid alarming rises in sexually transmitted disease, 'the cost and consequences of this ill-considered decision are considerable'.

There is, of course, a simpler explanation of why they don’t have “the emotional and social skills to help them handle sexual relationships”. They’re children.