As a society, we find it very difficult, a taboo even, to even mention the word sex when talking to young people. A vast majority of ‘old school parents’ would rather a milk stones than initiate ‘the talk’ with their children. As a young person, save for ‘parts of the male and female reproductive organs’ taught in Kenyan schools, I have no recollection of ever being taken through a CSE class. And I was an excellent student, so you can imagine.
So what is CSE, why is it important and why should we care?
Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) is a structured way of equipping young people with age-appropriate skills that touch on all the dimensions of sexuality. This way, we can be sure that as young people grow up, and with continuous learning, they are better placed to make those important sexual and health-related decisions.
Thanks to CSE, young people get to understand safe sexual practices, our social and cultural norms, all forms of sexual abuse and violence and how to go about them, gender equality, human rights, STIs, navigating relationships, communication - you name it.
With these and many other proven benefits of having CSE, the Kenyan curriculum is yet to incorporate this?
The first thing we need to do is be honest with ourselves. According to a recent study by Tammary Esho, Arun Datta, and Samuel Muniu, over a million and a half adolescents in the country are sexually active. As of 2023, this number is no doubt even higher. Having a robust, age-appropriate, and honest CSE would go a long way in empowering these adolescents to be able to make better choices around their health and general well-being.
The 2013 ESA commitment that was fortunately reaffirmed in December 2021 is a step in the right direction. The only thing remaining is implementation and having CSE in our schools. To achieve this, the government, policymakers, the private sector, parents, the clergy, and young people all have to work together to see to it that proper CSE and youth-friendly SRH services are within reach.