The sex education debate and COVID-19

Jesse Mills | Jan 20, 2021

No, this is not a letter about how to have safe sex during a pandemic. I'd like to draw a parallel between the sex-ed debate and the government's response to COVID-19.

So you don't want your teenager to get pregnant or contract an STD: what do you do? Do you tell them to remain abstinent? Or do you teach them how they can have safe sex? That's the extremely simplified debate.

Birth control pills sometimes fail, and even worn properly condoms do too. Abstinence is the only way you can be absolutely sure you're safe, so it makes sense to initially gravitate towards that option.

But in practice, abstinence-only education results in more pregnancies and more spread of STDs. Why? Because teenagers are going to have sex whether you want them to or not. It's human nature... and have you ever MET a teen? I mean, don't be naive.

You've probably already figured out where I'm going with this.

How many people do you know who have not broken the rules in some way since the pandemic began? In my whole circle I can think of one shining exception. I am not that exception, by the way.

All around me I see people who believe that COVID-19 is dangerous, and that we should do our part to keep it under control, and then they go ahead and visit friends, family, go to dinners and parties... as if the very belief is enough to shield them and their loved ones. Does reading this trigger any cognitive dissonance, any guilt? I know I've been in many situations since the pandemic where I've felt this tension.

I’m afraid our government is doubling down on a failing strategy instead of working with the reality. People are going to keep breaking the rules. We need to teach people how to stay safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19 while they're being social within their homes. It's already happening, and it's going to keep happening.

Refusing to acknowledge behaviour to avoid encouraging it further is the exact same instinct that drives abstinence-only sex-ed. Even if your heart’s in the right place, it’s destructive.

Jesse Mills