Sexual realities

The American system has many finer points. Free association, free enterprise, free expression and the ability to plead the Fifth are all testaments to the unique moral concepts framing the basic structure of our nation. Here I am, for example, writing what I can guarantee will be another scathing review of American policy without fear of censorship or injury to my person or property. That’s far more than can be said for millions of other journalists in the world.\nHowever, despite our glorious tradition of the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, one area where our country falls shamefully short is in the realm of sexual education, a failure illustrated with fresh resolve by a decision South African lawmakers put into effect last Monday.\nA cluster of forward-thinking decisions for the well-being of children known simply as The Children’s Act was brought into effect July 1. This act guarantees confidential access to HIV treatment, birth control, sexual counseling and abortions, among other health services, without guardian consent for children ages 12 and older. A representative from South Africa’s Department of Social Development explained that the decision was based on the ugly reality that children are becoming sexually active earlier and that the sexual abuse of young children in their country is very real. \nThe lawmakers of South Africa should be applauded for facing the disturbing issue of their children having sex or being sexually abused, despite the topic’s sticky nature, and doing something to make the sexual health of their youth a priority. In comparison, America should hide its face in shame.\nA decade after the institutionalization of abstinence-only sex education in schools and a long tradition of requiring parental consent for contraception and most other sexually-related medical services, the sexual health of our children is in an even worse state than before. American teenagers have the highest rate of pregnancies and one of the highest rates of sexually-transmitted infections in the industrialized world. I might be wrong, but it looks to me like living in denial about children’s sex lives and refusing to give them the knowledge to protect themselves is resulting in absolute disaster.\nBesides the obvious interest the nation should have in educating our children about the honest truths of sex and arming them with the tools to protect themselves (and, essentially, the future of our country from unnecessary accidents) the issue of sexual abuse still exists. It is a well-known fact that sexual abuse of children occurs at disturbing levels in America and that family members of the victims are responsible for many of those crimes. Our insistence on demanding parental consent places an undue burden on the young victims to ask for assistance from their abusers or those who might not accept the reality of the abuse. South Africa recognizes this and has given their children the power to take back their lives. What’s keeping us from doing the same?