Sex education in Asia draws a stark difference from what is seen in nearly every other continent on Earth. Asian society has never deliberately created a taboo around sex culture—it was simply there from the beginning.
The sex taboo is so deeply rooted in Asian society that the vast majority of the population goes through little to no formal sex education at all. To truly understand why this is, one needs to analyze the aspects that form cultural opinions. In particular, the socio-political background is what forms the taboo; Asia is stereotyped as more conservative and traditional than the West, be it in comparison to Australia, North America, or Europe. While this becomes less and less true every day, Asia is still an extremely tradition-based continent. Liberal ideologies such as freedom of expression, thought, and speech are less advocated in Asia than the Western world. Talking back against one’s parents is highly discouraged and there is a great fear of Asian children losing this traditional sense of submission.
But the problem with Asia’s non-existent sex education has nothing to do with a power struggle in traditional families, it is more to do with the lack of a right to information that these children have. The key understanding that must be had with sexual education is that it is a fundamental right to children to know how their body works not only in the general biological sense, but in the sexual sense as well. This benefits not only the children but society as a whole; society becomes safer and it allows its people to be more receptive towards sex education.
The origins of this problem are, as previously mentioned, deeply rooted in Asian society. Sex is treated no differently to how politics, violent, and divisive topics are in the rest of the world. The only problem is that these are not all basic pieces of information that children quite literally need. Sexual abstinence is praised in the education that is given, which simply oppresses certain teenagers based on a generalized idea of what teachers think is best for children, instead of what truly is best in the long-run. Chinese Monash University student Gina Xing has also highlighted the misogynistic undertones of the sex culture in Asia, specifically China. “The expectation of women to be conservative and willing is a big influence on the repression of sex in Chinese society, which makes it very difficult for a young girl to say ‘no’ and also to enforce the practice of safe sex,” she said in an interview with Meld Magazien during 2012. Women are most likely to suffer from the previously mentioned submissive culture and mindset towards sex in Asia. This allows irresponsible men to exhort ideas that benefit them and their sexual desires, instead of what is best for both men, women, and children.
Claiming there is a problem due to moral or political issues is one thing, but there is of course a major larger motivational force for better sex education in Asia. India in particular has the third-highest rate of HIV/Aids in the world, in part because of a lack of healthcare, but also because of a lack of education about sexually transmitted diseases (STI’s). 2.1 million people in India live with HIV, and it’s likely a large majority of that group was uneducated about it. Like China, the patriarchal society of India dictates that women are conservative, yet they have to give themselves up for men who want them. This is evidenced by their marriage structure as well. This lack of sexual understanding that women can say no is what also causes many women to feel forced to have sex with infected men. The clear violation of health and safety that is caused by a lack of sexual education is so clear.
Finally, the benefits of sex education speak for themselves. Scandinavian countries report some of the lowest worldwide rates of STDs globally, and they also have one of the most open and encouraging sexual education programs. In harsh contrast, it seems nearly all of the countries in Asia that don’t support sexual education en large (China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and more) suffer from greater teen pregnancies, child fatalities, and STI’s. Globally, those most likely to suffer from sexual diseases are those in third world countries. The common assumption would be to point the finger at economic situations saying these countries don’t care about the consequences of poor sexual health. The real matter is to do with the importance of sexual health. Governments of these countries in Asia particularly hold a firm belief that citizens can govern themselves with their sexual health, but the statistics say otherwise. Things are hopeful however; women’s reproductive and sexual rights protests and awareness are only increasing over time, and things like the increase in women’s hygiene products in India and China indicate that there is hope for the future.
Sexual education is no more a right to Western culture than Eastern, so it needs to become a cultural norm to allow sexual expression, freedom, and education in Asia. Sexual freedom is more than a right, more than a privilege—it is a necessity.