Hong Kong's education chief has denied that the government's sex education curriculum is conservative and said its advice, which includes avoiding premarital sex, is aimed at “protecting” young people.
Education Secretary Christine Choi defended the newly released curriculum on a news program Sunday amid widespread backlash that the materials are outdated and outdated.
Last week, the Education Department shared learning materials for a module on close relationships in the new subject “Civics, Economics and Society,” which is now compulsory for students from the first year of middle school to the third year of high school.
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The document describes premarital sex as “an inappropriate treatment of intimate relationships” and advises students to avoid it, saying society “still views premarital sex as a deviant act and young people should not engage in sexual activity with others at will.”
The resource describes a scenario in which a young couple is studying alone at home and advises them not to act on “sexual urges” that could lead to more intimate behavior, such as kissing, and then engage in sexual activity. According to the resource, young people can distract themselves from fulfilling their desires by playing badminton.
Choi told TVB's program on Sunday that the curriculum is aimed at secondary school students aged 12 to 14 and aims to “protect” them.
“How do we teach our children how to be responsible for themselves, how to take care of themselves, and how to respect others? As they grow up, they're going to be faced with a more complex society and environment.”
The Education Secretary added that the curriculum aims to teach young people “positive and upstanding values”.
“Outdated thinking”
In addition to internet users criticizing the sex education curriculum, lawmakers have also spoken out on the matter.
Councillor Doreen Conn said sex education is undoubtedly important and there are many ways to teach students how to ensure their romantic relationships don't affect their studies.
She pointed to some of the materials encouraging young people in relationships to fill out a “pledge,” promising to control their “sexual fantasies and urges” and develop a “resistance” to pornography. “You can also ask a “neighborhood student or someone you trust” to be a 'witness' to filling out the form,” the materials suggest.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Cong said signing such documents was “not the best approach” and that witness accounts showed authorities did not understand young people.
She added that it is unrealistic to advise young people to play badminton when they have sexual urges. [people] “It's impossible to book a court at such short notice to play badminton,” Kong wrote in Chinese.
Lawmaker Gary Chan questioned the authorities' condemnation of pre-marital sex, saying it could cause anxiety and pressure on students, and criticised the advice as outdated.
“The progress and enlightenment achieved in today's society's values āādid not come easily. Do we want to go backwards and allow such outdated ideas to resurface and gain power?” he wrote on Facebook.
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