Teachers Fight Sex Taboos

Population explosion, a jump in teenage pregnancies and rising sex-related crimes are troubling South Pacific societies. By David Robie

SOCIAL restraints once essential to survival on small South Pacific islands, including customs that

curbed population growth, have

eroded rapidly over recent decades, and the consequences are beginning to alarm many of the region s leaders and educators.

The collapse of traditional customs, alienation between generations and a desire to sample the modern ‘good life’ as portrayed on television and in videos nave in several countries fos tered a youth culture with disturbing sexual trends.

Both the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands, at least, are headed for population explosions that will sorely tax their limited economic and social resources. Elsewhere in the re gion, particularly in Tahiti and on Ebeye Island in tne Marshalls, the sha dow of AIDS (acquired immune de

ficiency syndrome) is looming.

Sex is a touchy or taboo subject in many Pacific cultures; though some countries have programs in sexuality education, they are frequently too for mal and ineffective.

Pacific educators focused on these

problems and examined possible

strategies at a seminar on family life education organised by the Suva-based UNESCO Pacific Office, in collabora tion with the NZ Family Planning Association, in Auckland last month.

Twenty officials and educators partici pated, representing the Cook Islands, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Western Samoa.

“Seminar isn’t really the right word for it,” said Family Planning Associa tion education director Barbara Lusk.

“We really got to the nub of the

issues, approached them practically

through workshops and experienced

some of the methods at several Auck land secondary schools with many Pacific islanders.

“Teaching styles need to change in

the Pacific. Rather than a formal

teacher-up-front situation, learning is

done with discussions, activities, games, role playing, videos and case studies. Rather than concentrating on the abstract ideas parents might be thinking of, the issues are approached more from where the kids are coming from the sort of questions they are asking, such as, ‘Am 1 normal? What

is happening to me? How will I know when I’ve reached puberty?’ ”

Seminar participants studied ways to improve sexuality programs in Pacific schools and other community venues, to share ideas and resources such as special Pacific videos in sex education. to talk to Pacific students at Auckland’s Seddon High School about their

experiences in sexuality education,

and the planning of national programs and strategies.

“Many Pacific nations are faced with growing problems of teenage pre-

gnancies, illegitimacy, sexually trans-

mitted diseases and sex-related crimes,” said Dr Allan Rondo, Suvabased regional adviser for population education in the Pacific. “It is vital that sexuality education is expanded

more effectively among teenagers.”

But that is easier said than done, when the subject is so sensitive even a New Zealand Sunday Times headline on a report about the seminar saying Pacific people had gathered to “talk sex” caused concern.

"Sex education is part of a cultural taboo, a subject that cannot be talked about openly"

“Sex education is part of a cultural taboo a fearsome subject that can not be talked about openly,” said Mar garet Ratu, a senior curriculum officer of Papua New Guinea’s Education De partment. “Urban children miss out on cultural values that have dis appeared with the modern lifestyle.”

While most educators agreed on the need for more widespread and more useful sexuality education among teenagers, they got a negative re sponse from Tonga’s director of education, Paulo Bloomfield.

“Sex education in our view should never, never include being taught how to practise it,” he said. “It is sacred, it is Godly a matter between male and female. It should not be learned from books.

“It should be from the right teacher, not the wrong teacher,”

Bloomfield added, condemning an American educator who had taught sex education in the Tongan language and who had “fortunately” now left.

“There should be a father figure and a mother figure. Never mix the

sexes. If you mix them . . . no, no!”

Later, he was heard to defend rape as being the “natural sexual urge” of young men; several other men re jected the notion of rape within mar

riage.

Among countries that have well advanced family life education prog rams is Fiji, which has been stirred into action by reports on alarming sex ual behaviour among the young, Under the headline Teen Mothers

Baby Shock’, The Fiji limes reported

that of 8093 births in Suva during 1984, 13 per cent of mothers were under the age of 19. Of the total births, 1617 babies were illegitimate, Also, 65 per cent of the mothers suffering from S fl)s bore illegitimate children. “Recent disclosures about the problems of teenage pregnancies, ille

gitimacy, sexually transmitted diseases,

juvenile delinquency and psychological

problems have caused alarm in Fiji,” says Kaminieli Tagica, the Education

Ministry’s family life education project

co-ordinator. “ I his has stimulated the

introduction of family life education

including sexuality education

into the schools.”

Fiji authorities have produced a documentary video called Better Safe: A South Pacific Drama , which tells the story of Jone, a fun-loving young man popular with teenage girls, and how

ne spreads STDs. Sponsored by the

Family Planning Federation of Austra lia, the video also gives up-to-date in formation on AIDS.

Another video, a 45-minute prog ram called Talanoa (‘Telling Stories), shows students talking about family planning, teenage sex, abortion and STDS. The videos are now being widely used in the Pacific. A pilot program expanding sex education in schools has now been adopted in all 141 schools in Fiji, and steps have been taken to introduce community counselling. “This word sex education sets bells ringing,” says Bogden. “But the issues are deadly serious for the Pacific and it is important to reaffirm positive values where culture is break ing down.” D