dance4life, Respect, Chris Bryant MP, Matt Cardle outside Houses of Parliament

Action of the month – Stand up for sex education

January 12, 2012
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On Friday 20th January, MPs around the UK will be voting on whether to make abstinence-based education compulsory in schools for young women aged 13-16.

At dance4life we think it’s important that abstinence (ie. choosing not to have sex) be included as a clear element within sex education. However, as there is no currently requirement to teach about contraception and safe sex in schools, this vote could lead to many schools in the UK only teaching young women about not having sex (also called abstinence-only education) and not covering other important elements within sex education.

Studies have shown abstinence-only education is not effective in decreasing the risk of HIV or unplanned pregnancy. We also think it’s weird to make any element of sex-education compulsory for young women and not young men. As a result we’re standing up for comprehensive sex and relationships education, and we want you to get involved too. Just follow the instructions in the next paragraph:

Take part in @dance 4 life action of the month by asking your MP to oppose Nadine Dorries MP’s abstinence bill. It will only take a minute, all you need to do is follow this link: http://bit.ly/zUqJVA. Repost this message on your Facebook page to support young people pushing for comprehensive sex and relationships education in all schools across the UK.

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