Serbian Province Launches Sex Education Classes

Optional reproductive health classes began in 66 high schools in Vojvodina as the new school year began on Monday, as part of attempts to address a potentially dangerous lack of knowledge among pupils.

Marinika Tepic, the provincial secretary for youth and sport, said that the authorities hoped that such classes would be introduced in the rest of the country, where pupils receive no sex education.

“Satisfied schools and happy students will be our strongest argument when we step out in front of Serbian National Assembly seeking amendments to the educational laws that would allow the same classes to be introduced as optional courses in all schools in Serbia,” Tepic said.

The programme was launched after a survey of high school students returned alarming results indicating poor knowledge among sexually active teenagers.

The provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth and the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina conducted a survey among first-year students, mostly aged 14 and 15.

The results suggested that one in ten 14-year-olds were sexually active on a regular basis, while one in eight had had intercourse at least once. Most said that they learned about sex and protection from their friends and from the internet.

Asked to give answers to 27 questions about reproductive health, the pupils on average could answer only nine correctly. None scored more than 22 correct answers.

“They do not know that a condom protects people from both pregnancy and infections, they don’t know what STDs are, or the menstrual cycle, and they believe that abortion is not risky,” the Vojvodina Institute of Public Health said.

The survey also gave alarming results about rape. Among sexually active teens, one in eight had had...