October 16, 2023 – Sex education in Croatian schools has been the subject of heated debate for many years, but it still remains a non-existent subject in the school curriculum. The initiative to introduce sex education began in the 1960s, when various associations led several petitions and campaigns. Two years ago, nearly 13,000 people signed the petition in less than two days.
The same year, written Hintthree-quarters of citizens said they want comprehensive sex education in Croatian schools, but to date the Ministry of Science and Education has not pushed for reform that would provide students with sex education .
Four associations in Rijeka have launched an online campaign to highlight the importance of introducing comprehensive sexuality education in schools. Healthy relationships, healthy future: comprehensive sex education at school! This is the name of the campaign which, according to the association, was supported by a large part of students and parents.
Associations call for the introduction of a subject dedicated to sex education in Croatian schools
The campaign includes reducing the risks associated with destructive sexual behaviors, delaying sexual intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing the use of contraception.
“We base this campaign on the results of research that examined the status and needs for the introduction of comprehensive sexuality education in primary and secondary schools in the counties of Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sisak-Moslavina and Varazdin. “50 primary and secondary school programs were analyzed, a survey was carried out, in which a large number of educational workers participated, and a total of seven focus groups were carried out,” said the PaRiter association, who carried out the investigation with the LORI and Delta associations. and SOS Rijeka.
The research results showed that students are mainly interested in implementation and believe that they do not sufficiently cover topics in the field of comprehensive sexuality education in regular courses. The association told Index that teachers said comprehensive sexuality education had a place in schools.
“As a long-term goal, we are considering the introduction of a special subject dedicated to comprehensive sexuality education in Croatian schools, which would ensure enough space for a qualitative and in-depth approach to all areas in accordance with the guidelines of UNESCO”, said the Association, adding that qualified teachers or experts would teach this subject in this region.
They believe that in Croatia, sex education is provided only sporadically and within the framework of transdisciplinary themes. Programs that address the topic of sexuality, they say, approach it very narrowly with an emphasis on biological aspects.
Ministry: Topics on sexuality are already covered at school
At the beginning of 2019, the competent ministry included the cross-cutting theme Health for primary and secondary schools in the school curriculum. Index asked the ministry if it was considering expanding the sex education curriculum. They indicated that topics related to sexuality are already covered in schools.
“Contents related to sexuality as a part of human life, the preservation of sexual and reproductive health, responsible sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases are addressed in schools, mainly in the compulsory cross-curricular subject of health , but also in biology. The cross-curricular theme of health is implemented in all primary and secondary classes and is compulsory for all students,” responded the Ministry of the Index.
However, before introducing the subject of Health in the curriculum, Croatia was the subject Health education in primary and secondary schools, but the ministry abolished it and introduced the mentioned transversal subject, which is taught through various subjects, from biology to religious studies.
Associations in Rijeka believe that this is a step backwards and that it is not enough for students to approach this topic only in individual subjects. For them, comprehensive sexuality education allows young people to become responsible citizens, capable of recognizing and resolving challenges related to sexuality.
A third of young people find out about sexual relations on the Internet
A big problem, they say, is how children are told about sex. According to a study by the Child Protection Clinic in the city of Zagreb, young people mainly talk about sex with their friends; more than a third of them get their information via the Internet, while less than a quarter do so via conversation with their parents and partners. Only 12% of young people learn sex education at school and through educational materials.
According to a 2018 UNESCO study, it was concluded that the impact of comprehensive sexuality education on children and young people is manifested in reducing risks associated with sexual behavior, recording later stages of relationships sexual relations, reduction in the number of sexual partners. , and increased use of contraception.
Pula school as an example
Croatian society is increasingly aware of sex education for children and young people within the education system. An example is that of a high school in Pula, which has been implementing a prevention program among first-year secondary school students since 2006.
They are the first in Croatia to reduce the percentage of teenage pregnancies by organizing conferences on sex education and teenage sexuality. Adolescent sexuality is part of the school prevention program, which is implemented through classroom lessons lasting 12 class hours. The program was initiated by counselor Ljiljana Meščić Blažević and psychologist Davorka Glavina-Stanković.
“The main objective of the program is to inform and educate adolescents about reproductive health and human sexuality as well as the prevention of risky sexual behavior. The program is carried out through interactive work with students and includes active learning methods, simulations, discussions and conversations,” explains Ljiljana Meščić Blažević. She added that the program has been successfully implemented for 16 years and all generations find it interesting and useful to a large extent.
Director Žagar: Sex education should be introduced in eighth grade
The initiative to introduce sex education as a separate compulsory subject in schools was signed two years ago by almost 13,000 people, including the director of the Pula Medical School, Ivan Žagar, who believes it is necessary to introduce sex education in schools. Croatian schools in upper primary grades and in secondary schools.
“School should not only be about listing facts on various subjects, but should be more than that and should prepare children for life. Today, the question of sexuality is imposed on children from the end of primary school, and especially until high school.
I think it would be much better for them to get information on these topics from someone who is educated on the subject, rather than collecting information from their friends or on the Internet,” said Director Žagar to Index. He is not optimistic about the transdisciplinary theme of Health because he believes it is not fully implemented in all schools.
“Today, this solution is no longer sufficient because not all teachers are qualified to teach it. Sex education should be introduced from the eighth grade of primary school. But I think people here are still largely conservative and I don’t know to what extent they would support the initiative and the introduction of sex education in Croatian schools. I think this is all due to the conservative attitude of the Catholic Church and society as a whole, which is largely conservative,” Žagar concluded.
Rijeka is the first in Croatia to introduce health education in schools
Rijeka is once again the first in Croatia to introduce health education after civic education from next school year, so that primary school students learn from 5th at 8th grade.
The program is intended to be implemented as extracurricular activities in upper grades of primary schools for 70 hours per year, the Administrative Department of Education, Culture, Sports and Development told Index the youth of the city of Rijeka.
“Learning and teaching within this extra-curricular activity will be organized across four thematic areas – Healthy Living, Good Diet and Physical Activity; Mental health – emotional and social well-being of children and young people; Sexual and reproductive health and gender equality; and Prevention of addictions and risky behaviors. For each thematic unit, topics and associated learning outcomes as well as the number of hours of implementation have been developed.
The program itself provides proposals for learning and teaching methods and strategies for each thematic area, as well as proposals for student assessment methods based exclusively on formative assessment,” the Administrative Department said. , adding that sex education will be an integral part of the program. school curriculum, covered by the Sexuality thematic area. and reproductive health and gender equality.
Sex education in Europe
When it comes to sex education, Croatia lags behind Europe. Two thirds of European countries have resolved the issue of sex education in primary and secondary schools. Sweden is the first European country to introduce compulsory sex education, followed immediately by Germany. For twenty-two years, this subject has been compulsory in Finland, Norway and France, while Denmark joined the list five years ago, but students are not obliged to take it.
In Ireland, sex ceased to be a taboo subject in the 1980s, when compulsory health education was first introduced. In Britain, sex education exists in schools, but it is not compulsory. Only the biological content of health and sex education is compulsory and is taught to all children, while everything else regarding sex education is only taught to children whose parents want it.
Croatia is one of nine countries in the European Union that has not included sex education in its school curriculum. These include Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy and Spain, where young people do not have the opportunity to receive information on sex education in all schools across the country.
In Croatia, the issue of sex education in schools has been debated for years, but so far no action has been strong enough for the ministry to include this topic in the school curriculum.
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