The majority of high school students in the city agree on this definition Comprehensive Sex Education (ESI) It works to prevent cases of violence and discrimination, while what concerns them most is knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptive methods, mental health and relationships. But more than half will change the way they teach The presence of specialists or professionals is greater than in debates among peersas shown in a new survey of how these contents are applied in the classroom. For 86% of high school students, ESI is considered “important.”
the Ombudsman of the City of Buenos Aires (Dpcaba) faced a second status diagnosis to update the 2022-2023 diagnosis after almost a decade of participating in workshops in introducing ESI in the region. It did this through a survey of 3,561 participants, aged 13 to 18, from public administration institutions (secondary, technical and technical schools) and private administration institutions (secular and denominational). They supplemented it with interviews with 20 students from five high schools who were not among the 39 people who were part of the representative sample of the city’s educational offer.
“The ESI is a major policy that has been implemented, from our point of view, in a very uneven way,” he said. Nation City Ombudsman, Maria Rosa Muenius. “For Dpcaba, it was important to produce reliable information that investigates this and other aspects, as well as to listen directly to students to find out whether or not they are accessing this right in their schools and in what way,” he continued. “We adhere to the idea that without data, public policies are left to partial, and often wrong, perceptions. So all this information will allow us to deploy more attentive, precise and effective interventions.”
The 23 questions used revealed adolescents’ opinion about how sex education is taught in schools in their schools, how it is done, who does it, whether there are specific references, what topics interest them and what topics are covered effectively, in addition to more in-depth interviews.
“Less than half (43%) stated that they like the way inclusive education is implemented in their schools, and at the same time, 49% of students expressed that they would like to have more time to process its contents, indicating a gap between the (existing) consensus on its importance and satisfaction with (the way it is implemented) in daily school practice,” concluded a team from the General Directorate of the Right to Human Development in Dpcaba responsible for this follow-up survey, conducted in March. June 25 and 13 last.
Nine out of 10 students said they had ESI in school either every year (46%), almost every year (24%), or at some point (20%). The rest did not remember (7%) or had not seen those contents before (3%). “There is still a sector, although a minority, that has not had or is not locating ESI” in classrooms, according to the authors, who also note that it is taught with “significant variations” in its continuity.
Two-thirds (64%) of students in state-run art schools took ESI annually, compared to less than a third (29%) in art schools. In the private sector, just over half of students (58%) in secular schools reported receiving a comprehensive education in schools each year, with a slightly lower proportion in religious schools (48%) closer to public secondary schools (42%).
Biology/health education, tutoring or moral training and citizenship are the subjects taught. And much less in other subjects such as physical education, physics/chemistry, or language/literature. But this “generalization” initially designed for ESI would not be the best way to teach it to students.
“I think it is not necessary. Subjects such as dedicated private lessons can be given full time,” a student interviewed at a denominational expansion school contributed to one of the answers that caught the attention of the Ombudsman team. “The truth is that I do not see it as necessary. I feel that it is a waste of time in every subject. Biology is a subject that can be talked about, but I do not see the need to talk about ESI in ethics and citizenship training, history or computer science,” added another high school student in the certificates that were published with the identity of the minors who participated in the protection.
What topics did they watch? 89% mentioned information related to relationships, such as emotions, consent, romantic love, families, care, and feelings, bullying Or various forms of abuse. 88% of them cited issues related to risks and safe use of social networks (intimacy/privacy, posting photos, cyberbullying, grooming). 80% said they watched content about sexually transmitted diseases, contraception and pregnancy. More than half included in their answers topics related to gender violence, stereotypes, and ideals of beauty and diversity.
In the students’ opinion, mental health problems (anxiety, depression, panic attacks, eating disorders) were the “things of least concern” and other topics included in the ESI, such as rights to night-time spaces (discrimination based on nationality, gender, religion, security measures). In the first case, only 47% of those surveyed mentioned it in the content they received, and in the second case, 36% of the students mentioned it.
But what are teens most interested in knowing? 67% of responses included prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptive use and pregnancy, followed by mental health problems, relationships, gender equality, use of social networks, nightlife, and finally diversity.
“The main contradiction concerns mental health, which appears, on the one hand, as one of the least covered topics (47%), but chosen as one of the most interesting by the student body (64%) – highlighted by the Dpcaba authors -. Conversely, (the use of) social networks is one of the most present contents of the school experience (88%), but occupies one of the lowest places on the scale of interest (36%)” of the students.
In January this year, before the start of the school year, the city said after a complaint from opposition lawmakers that it had begun a “comprehensive review of the contents in question.” These are usually available online and are those implemented in classrooms, along with parent guides, by primary and secondary levels. The manner in which the contents of the ESI are integrated, which is mandatory under national law, is the responsibility of each jurisdiction. Here you can see the materials uploaded online by the Buenos Aires Administration.
In response to an inquiry Nationfrom Ministry of Education Buenos Aires refused to make any statement about the Dpcaba poll.
At the same time, the Ombudsman team was particularly “affected” by three aspects of the responses. As Moinos summed it up in the value that young people attribute to the ESI initiative, the topics covered do not always match those that students consider most important – citing mental health as an example, “a particularly needed condition that is little addressed in schools”, and emphasizing uneven implementation. “Although the majority had some experience with ESI, it was not the same for all students,” the advocate said.
“In the survey, more than 85% recognize its importance in understanding relationships, preventing violence or accessing reliable information. This data is essential because it dismantles artificial debates: when you listen to its champions, it is clear that ESI is a required and necessary policy. And that only 46% responded that they received ESI every year shows a fundamental problem: the continuity and quality of ESI depends too much on each school, resulting in unfair disparities. Today, the city does not guarantee equitable access,” he added.
What are the next steps for Dpcaba with this information? “We will bring this diagnosis closer to educational authorities and schools so that what students are raising and demanding can be heard,” Moinos predicted. “In addition, it serves to accompany us better. Many of the problems discovered are related to the lack of tools. The data we collect will help us improve and deepen the regional work we do in the field of training, materials and technical assistance for schools and management teams. Finally, it encourages us to continue the investigation. There is no doubt that this report opens new questions about a healthy mindset, connections, participation and access to information. We will continue to highlight these dimensions to support updated diagnostics.”