Almost half of girls leave school without knowing about healthy relationships and sex, a UK-wide report shared exclusively with i has revealed.
The survey of nearly 3,000 girls, by Plan International UK, has found that on average, of girls aged from 12 to 21, 44 per cent feel they have not been taught vital information about healthy sex and relationships.
The charity’s State of Girls Rights report, which will be published in June, also found that one in five girls and young women (17 per cent) feel that boys and men are taught what they need to know about healthy relationships and sex.
And almost one in ten girls and young women (9 per cent) can imagine a situation where it would be acceptable for a boy or man to hit them, the survey shows.
i spoke to teenage girls about their experiences of sex education in school, ahead of the Government releasing its guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).
Clara, 18, from London, said RSHE classes were focused on “just sex” rather than “maintaining healthy relationships”.
She said her cohort would have benefitted from “discussions on topics like consent” from an earlier age, with both sexes in the room, to “allow different perspectives to be heard”.
Nova, from Glasgow, said her school did not teach “how to have safe sex as a gay person”.
“It’s not very inclusive education, at least at my school,” said the 16-year-old, who identifies as gay.
Current RHSE rules strongly encourage schools to teach about different types of family and same-sex relationships.
It comes as the Government is expected to release highly-anticipated guidance on Thursday banning schools in England from teaching sex education to children under nine.
Other measures would prevent children from being taught that they can change their gender identity, and conversations about sex, including about contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions, would be delayed until they are aged 13.
Clara told i that banning sex education until then would do “more harm than good” to young people.
She said: “Before the age of 13, you have knowledge of puberty and by not having this paired with sex education knowledge, I think this can do more harm than good.
“I also think having sex education for younger years in schools will be beneficial because of how these things are accessible online in videos and music.
“Sex and relationships are so widely discussed, so I think it’s better to get knowledge of this from a safe environment.”
Nova also said it was a “bad idea” to delay sex education until 13 because “questions around this topic do not start the second a child turns 13 but usually at younger ages”.
She said: “Kids aren’t oblivious to sex, especially with how prominent the topic is in media nowadays, such as in films and TV shows; they deserve to have a healthy education and open talks about this topic at a suitable level for their age.
“The delay of such a topic makes it more taboo and adds shame around it and makes it seem as something that shouldn’t and can’t be talked about; it will also further contribute to a negative and unhealthy view of sex in young teens and preteens.”
She added that a ban on teaching gender identity in school would have a “highly negative impact on many young people and their mental health”.
“Removing this from education doesn’t get rid of or prevent people struggling with their gender identity but, in fact, causes so much more issues in these young people and will increase bullying and suicide rates,” she told i.
Kathleen Spencer Chapman, director of communications, advocacy and UK programmes at Plan International UK, said young people needed “proper lesson time allocated for RSHE with trained, specialist teachers”.
She said: “Introducing strict age-restricted content on the curriculum risks undermining teachers’ confidence in delivering RSHE.
“Parents and educators should be supported to embrace children’s learning about their bodies, relationships and sexuality from early childhood to allow children to explore, clarify and form life-long healthy attitudes and practices, free from coercion, violence and discrimination.”
She added: “We are failing our young people if we do not give them the knowledge and tools they need at the right time for them to make good decisions about their relationships, bodies and reproductive rights.”
A closer look at the data
I have been taught what I need to know about healthy relationships and sex
- 12-year-old girls: 54 per cent agree
- 13-year-old girls: 63 per cent
- 14-year-old girls: 61 per cent
- 15-year-old girls: 62 per cent
- 16-year-old girls: 61 per cent
- 17-year-old girls: 60 per cent
- 18-year-old girls: 46 per cent
- 19-year-old girls: 51 per cent
- 20-year-old girls: 52 per cent
- 21-year-old girls: 51 per cent
Overall, 56 per cent of girls said they were taught what they needed to know about healthy relationships and sex – leaving 44 per cent who were not.
I feel boys/men are taught what they need to know about healthy relationships and sex
- 12-year-old girls: 21 per cent agree
- 13-year-old girls: 29 per cent
- 14-year-old girls: 23 per cent
- 15-year-old girls: 18 per cent
- 16-year-old girls: 17 per cent
- 17-year-old girls: 12 per cent
- 18-year-old girls: 16 per cent
- 19-year-old girls: 12 per cent
- 20-year-old girls: 14 per cent
- 21-year-old girls: 16 per cent
It is OK for a boy/man to hit me
- 15-year-old girls: 15 per cent agree
- 16-year-old girls: 3 per cent
- 17-year-old girls: 6 per cent
- 18-year-old girls: 13 per cent
- 19-year-old girls: 9 per cent
- 20-year-old girls: 13 per cent
- 21-year-old girls: 11 per cent