The Effects of Sex Education on the Risky Sexual Behaviour of School Going Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescents are at a high risk for a number of health consequences associated with early and unsafe sexual activity including infection with HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies. The amplified sexual risk-taking behaviour among adolescents culminates into thinking that perhaps lack of knowledge pertaining to sex and sexuality provokes adolescents into undertaking sexual risks. Consequently, sex education was introduced as a means of introducing youths in the field of sexual and reproductive health in Malawi to help them go for informed decisions. The use of several interventions countrywide is cited to have decreased the rates of sexual activity in some adolescents, however, despite the positive trend many adolescents remain at risk for unintended pregnancy, STIs and HIV/AIDS infection. This study empirically evaluates how sex education has impacted risky sexual behaviours undertaken by the schooling youths in the Machinga district particularly in three schools namely: Mbenjere, Ntaja and Nsanama Community Day Secondary Schools. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed in the study. Questionnaire and focus group discussions served as data collection tools. Results of the study revealed that a good number of schooling youths had enough sexual knowledge but still undertook sexual risks. The study however concludes that sex education is failing to positively impact schooling youth’s behaviour because of some cultural and personal factors which seems to contradict the whole purpose of sex and sexuality education amongst youths in Machinga.