JAKARTA: The lack of comprehensive sex education can lead to serious social challenges, as Indonesia is finding out.
These have gone hand in hand with increasing religious piety and conservatism, as norms regulate the way young people understand sexuality. There is also no minimum age for marriage if parents apply for the local religious court’s consent – a loophole which persists despite recent change to Indonesian laws.So what can be done to counter these social norms? Earlier this year, the National Population and Family Planning Agency announced that they plan to include reproductive health education as part of core school curriculum.
Another study, by the WHO and John Hopkins University’s Global Early Adolescent Study, conducted from 2017 to 2018 among adolescents aged 10 to 14 in Indonesia, showed that students in this age bracket have a relatively low knowledge of sexual and reproductive health. Some girls were already pregnant, but there were also cases where parents were worried their children would engage in non-marital sex and thus preferred for them to get married instead.We can no longer ignore the fact that conservative social norms hamper Indonesian youths from having a full understanding of sexuality and consent.
Second, understand that youths have the right to exercise their sexuality and make their own decisions. But in order to exercise full responsibility over their sexuality, youths must be empowered with a comprehensive understanding of sex and sexuality.