Sex education must be offered by all schools
It is not surprising to read in newspapers about cases of teenage pregnancy in Hong Kong. This is happening mainly because of a lack of sex education.
Many local teenagers do not have sufficient knowledge about sex to be able to protect themselves and this can have serious consequences.
Schools in our city tend to focus on their students getting good academic results, rather than also paying attention to personal growth, including sex education.
When they reach puberty, teenagers are understandably curious about sex and obviously at an age where there is a greater chance of their becoming sexually active. Therefore, it is vitally important that schools ensure they know about the facts of life and about contraception.
If they become pregnant and lack sufficient knowledge, they may even resort to getting an unsafe abortion, with tragic results.
Among some families, talk of subjects such as sex is taboo and teenagers will feel awkward discussing it with their parents. Therefore, schools have an extremely important role to play. They have a responsibility to provide comprehensive sex education.