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ANALYSIS

‘We must have faith in our young people’

A GWENT church youth worker has publicly backed a controversial sex education programme - although another Christian campaigning group has called it “defeatist”.

Some commentators have suggested that the programme will see the Government using oral sex lessons as a means of reducing the growing number of teenage pregnancies.

The APAUSE (Added Power and Understanding in Sex Education) programme, developed by the Department of Child Health at the University of Exeter, aims to help young people develop good relationships and manage the levels of intimacy to which they consent. In 2003, it was run in 135 schools across 16 local education authorities.

Rachel Burton, a youth leader at the King’s Church in Newport, Gwent, said: “I have been a local church youth worker for over a decade, and I see first hand the pressure that is on young people to have sex outside of marriage, and that is at an increasingly early age.

“Within our local church group we have written and annually deliver a course that enables young people to rise above this pressure and see their virginity as something to be treasured. The course starts with talking about our friendship with God, examines various other types of relationships and ends with talking about marriage, sex and physical intimacy in a relationship outside of marriage.

“My initial response was not in favour of such a proposal, but as I began to research what APAUSE was advocating, it all seemed very similar to what we have been successfully doing in our own youth group. It is a sex education programme, but it doesn’t simply deal with the process of reproduction and hand out condoms.”

But a spokesman for CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) offered a more guarded response.

He said: "It is important that APAUSE is analysed in the round - focusing on one aspect of the programme, such as advice given on oral sex, is not necessarily helpful. APAUSE does, for example, look at the need to delay sexual activity.

"Nevertheless, we need to recognise that there can be a displacement effect - too much explicit teaching delivered outside a strong values framework can lead to a rise in sexual activity of all varieties. Nor is it helpful to teach young people that there is a form of sexual activity that is totally risk-free, either in physical, emotional or psychological terms.

"We would want to agree that we have shared objectives - everyone would probably agree that sexual activity should preferably be expressed within a safe, loving relationship (and as Christians we know that that means a faithful, exclusive, lifelong marriage).

"Essentially the APAUSE programme promotes the idea that there are ways of expressing physical intimacy without engaging in sexual intercourse. But this is based on a cynical view of young people, where they are unlikely to make the best decision and refrain from sexual activity. APAUSE however has bought into the logic that there is an inevitability about young peoples' sexual activity, and has chosen to steer young pupils away from types of activity where there's a detrimental physical outcome. We want to stress that there are better ways of achieving these ends.

"We must have a sense of hope about young people: they can and will do what is best when we give them the right chances through good education. APAUSE is defeatist; we prefer to have a more positive attitude. Given the right teaching, like our course Evaluate, and the right role models, they can and will make the best choices."

More on CARE’s advice at www.pregnancy.org.uk

Meanwhile a parliamentary consultation of more than 15 Christian organisations hosted by the Maranatha Community has called for a wholesale review of the Government's sex education programme.

The National Foundation for Educational Research has evaluated the effectiveness of the APAUSE Programme. Copies of the full report and research summary can be obtained from the Teenage Pregnancy Unit, Ground Floor, Caxton House 6-12 Tothill St London SW 1H 9NA www.teenagepregnancyunit.gov.uk or www.ex.ac.uk/sshs/apause/

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		ANALYSIS ‘We must have faith in our young people’ A GWENT church youth worker has publicly backed a controversial sex education programme - although another Christian campaigning group has called it “defeatist”. Some commentators have suggested that the programme will see the Government using oral sex lessons as a means of reducing the growing number of teenage pregnancies. The APAUSE (Added Power and Understanding in Sex Education) programme, developed by the Department of Child Health at the University of Exeter, aims to help young people develop good relationships and manage the levels of intimacy to which they consent. In 2003, it was run in 135 schools across 16 local education authorities. Rachel Burton, a youth leader at the King’s Church in Newport, Gwent, said: “I have been a local church youth worker for over a decade, and I see first hand the pressure that is on young people to have sex outside of marriage, and that is at an increasingly early age. “Within our local church group we have written and annually deliver a course that enables young people to rise above this pressure and see their virginity as something to be treasured. The course starts with talking about our friendship with God, examines various other types of relationships and ends with talking about marriage, sex and physical intimacy in a relationship outside of marriage. “My initial response was not in favour of such a proposal, but as I began to research what APAUSE was advocating, it all seemed very similar to what we have been successfully doing in our own youth group. It is a sex education programme, but it doesn’t simply deal with the process of reproduction and hand out condoms.” But a spokesman for CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) offered a more guarded response. He said: "It is important that APAUSE is analysed in the round - focusing on one aspect of the programme, such as advice given on oral sex, is not necessarily helpful. APAUSE does, for example, look at the need to delay sexual activity. "Nevertheless, we need to recognise that there can be a displacement effect - too much explicit teaching delivered outside a strong values framework can lead to a rise in sexual activity of all varieties. Nor is it helpful to teach young people that there is a form of sexual activity that is totally risk-free, either in physical, emotional or psychological terms. "We would want to agree that we have shared objectives - everyone would probably agree that sexual activity should preferably be expressed within a safe, loving relationship (and as Christians we know that that means a faithful, exclusive, lifelong marriage). "Essentially the APAUSE programme promotes the idea that there are ways of expressing physical intimacy without engaging in sexual intercourse. But this is based on a cynical view of young people, where they are unlikely to make the best decision and refrain from sexual activity. APAUSE however has bought into the logic that there is an inevitability about young peoples' sexual activity, and has chosen to steer young pupils away from types of activity where there's a detrimental physical outcome. We want to stress that there are better ways of achieving these ends. "We must have a sense of hope about young people: they can and will do what is best when we give them the right chances through good education. APAUSE is defeatist; we prefer to have a more positive attitude. Given the right teaching, like our course Evaluate, and the right role models, they can and will make the best choices." More on CARE’s advice at www.pregnancy.org.uk Meanwhile a parliamentary consultation of more than 15 Christian organisations hosted by the Maranatha Community has called for a wholesale review of the Government's sex education programme. The National Foundation for Educational Research has evaluated the effectiveness of the APAUSE Programme. Copies of the full report and research summary can be obtained from the Teenage Pregnancy Unit, Ground Floor, Caxton House 6-12 Tothill St London SW 1H 9NA www.teenagepregnancyunit.gov.uk or www.ex.ac.uk/sshs/apause/ © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.