Lack of sex education drives young people to porn, the internet: experts

Young people are turning to the internet and pornography for sex advice, prompting experts to call for more educational resources for teenagers — not fewer. As the City of Albany wrestles with how to handle a push from some ratepayers to remove or restrict certain sex education resources from its library, experts warn that the real danger is letting kids be misinformed online. On Monday night a group called Keeping Children Safe Albany successfully passed a number of non-binding motions at a special council meeting. Those included restricting the book Welcome to Sex to library users aged 16 years and over, who would need to request it from the library counter, and removing another book, Sex: A Book for Teens, from the library at least temporarily. Albany Council will vote on the proposals at a meeting later this month. It has sparked a broader debate about sex education for children and young people and reopened arguments around Welcome to Sex that last year saw it pulled from Big W shelves to protect staff members. KCSA organiser Michelle Kinsella, a former candidate for both One Nation and the Informed Medical Options Party, said the community was concerned about “the sexualisation of children”. That included Welcome to Sex, a book marketed for children 12 and up, being shelved in the junior part of the library, where she said children as young as kindergarten-age could theoretically access it. “A librarian could read this book to kindy children during story time,” she said. “Welcome to Sex has sexually graphic depictions and descriptions, we feel it is not age or stage appropriate. “Kindy age children do not need to be ‘guided’ on how to give hand jobs, have oral and anal sex or discuss choking during sex.” LGBTQI groups have described the concerns as “confused bigotry”. Edith Cowan University sex education researcher Giselle Woodley said there was decades of research showing that sex education made children more safe, not less. “Resources such as these (books) have the potential to equip young people with necessary knowledge to navigate their sexual lives, while being able to better identify harmful behaviours,” she said. “Some of the books have content that can appear contentious to older generations, however, these are books designed for modern teens living in a digital era.” She said without good sex education resources, young people were often too embarrassed to ask their parents and instead turned to Google, friends and even pornography. “Existing evidence suggests that comprehensive information about sex can reduce instances of pregnancy and STIs and even delay first-time sexual experience,” she said. “By not discussing sex openly and providing young people with necessary knowledge, this leaves them fumbling in the dark to learn about sex, which can lead to uncomfortable, unwanted sexual experiences and sexual assault. “In our research, young people were unsure of where to turn to for questions about sex. Instead, they’re turning to Google, pornography, or their friends as first preference. “Books such as these (that) are evidence-based and supported by experts are the perfect sort of resource that teens were after to help them answer their questions about sex.”