00:00Are children at risk when sex education is discussed?
00:03It is often said that comprehensive sexuality education is a threat or a strategy for ideologizing.
00:08But before we get into political debates, let's talk about realities.
00:11What does the data say when sex education enters the classroom?
00:14First, what do we mean when we talk about comprehensive sexuality education?
00:18According to the UNFPA, it is not just a matter of sexuality.
00:20It encompasses dimensions ranging from healthy relationships to violence prevention
00:24up to reproductive health and self-recognition.
00:27Although Colombia has had solid laws since 1994, practice tells a different story.
00:32Welving's index revealed that in 2024 only 34% of schools trained their teachers in
00:37this subject.
00:38Imagine 10 schools lined up, only 3 and just a small part of the fourth gave this training to their teachers.
00:45This means that most did not do it.
00:47Even worse, despite the fact that today we have more access than ever to cell phones, the internet, social media, and television,
00:52Access to information about sexuality is declining.
00:55According to the National Demographic and Health Survey, in 2015 more than 94% of people
01:00had access to this type of information, but in 2025 the figure dropped to 80.4% in women
01:06and 71% in men.
01:08To put it in perspective, out of every 100 men, almost 29 are no longer accessing this type of information.
01:13and among women they are almost 20%.
01:16To understand whether this training works or not,
01:18the powerful sex education organization, along with figures and concepts,
01:22They created the decision-making power index,
01:24measuring students' knowledge before and after receiving workshops on this topic.
01:30The results demonstrate that education transforms misconceptions and prevents risks.
01:34For example, that young people understand that virginity is a social construct.
01:38The understanding went from a modest 14% to 48%.
01:42The belief that menstruation is a completely natural process jumped from 34% to 74%.
01:49That they recognize that voluntary termination of pregnancy is an autonomous decision and a right,
01:54It rose from 45% to 70%.
01:56But not only on these topics.
01:58The training increased the young people's ability to detect jealousy as a sign of violence.
02:03Identifying gender-based violence and knowing exactly how to request contraceptives
02:07and where to go if they suffer any type of aggression.
02:09As educator María José Álvarez points out,
02:11The autonomy to decide changes drastically depending on where one is born or household income.
02:16Ensuring this education reduces inequalities and allows for informed life decisions.
02:22The children learn how to take care of themselves, how to relate to others,
02:25how to enjoy, how to love, and that seems absolutely key to me.
02:32And I think we have to consider that it's a fundamental part of the curriculum.
02:38like math or smoothies.
02:40The ability to decide varies depending on where we are born in Colombia.
02:45whether we are women, whether we are men, whether we are poor, whether we are not.
02:49And this also has enormous long-term consequences.
02:52The earlier we have children, the less likely we are to finish our education and therefore have a better job.
03:01So let's say we accumulate disadvantages.
03:03We are experiencing narratives and discourses that are telling us, incorrectly,
03:08that comprehensive sexuality education is a threat, but it is not.
03:11There is no data to show anything like that.
03:13What we do have is data showing that sex education succeeds in transforming realities.
03:18for a youth, adolescence, and adulthood that can make better decisions.
03:23What the INSEE study or results on the Power to Decide most clearly demonstrate is that, indeed,
03:30Sex education strengthens the power to decide, which strengthens the level of autonomy.
03:34which strengthens knowledge about the body and how the body works,
03:37which strengthens the possibilities of rationing in a more equitable and egalitarian way,
03:42which strengthens the ability to recognize violence and thus prevent it
03:46and to understand and recognize diversity as part of humanity.
03:49It is a tool to help prevent teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence.
03:54and a tool for having more robust life projects.
03:57Far from being a threat, the data shows that educating children and adolescents
04:01With scientific and human rights information, it does not ideologize, it protects, it provides tools for life
04:07and helps to reduce inequalities.
04:09Equalized. We wrote a full article about the real evidence of comprehensive sex education in the country.
04:15You can see it in the Gender and Diversity section at www.elespectador.com.
04:24Thank you!
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