中国农村的性教育问题

Continuing with our series, "Growing Up in China", we look at sex education classes being delivered in rural areas of the country.

Educators are campaigning to change traditional beliefs about teaching the subject at public schools. In a rural village in Hebei Province, primary school students and their parents attended sex-education classes together.

It’s not a typical school day for Hu Meile and Li Zimo. A one-time class on Sex Education is on the schedule. It’s the first one offered at their school - located in the mountains of Hebei Province.
10-year-old Hu Meile enjoyed the lesson.

"I learned to protect myself. For example when I wear my bathing suit, I need to cover myself." Hu said.

And nine-year-old Li Zimo.

"I can understand it. I learn to respect myself and to respect others." Li said.

Students learn basic human anatomy....and physical contact. Setting limits and boundaries. And the courage to say "NO". The class is one hour long. Their teacher, Liu Ping, is a former police officer.

"Sex education is especially important in rural villages, where there are a lot of cases of rape. Six to seven out of every ten rapes involve victims under 18, and the culprits are relatives or family friends." Liu said.

Liu says more and more cases are being exposed in the media. Concerned parents attend her classes. It’s also their very first lecture on sex education.

"We are thankful. This is something we cannot do at home." Parent Hu Xiuhua said.

"We talk about this at home but it’s different. The children listen and learn better from their teachers." Parent Yang Yanfang said.

All reasons why Liu was driven to teach sex education. The lessons are funded by "Beautiful Classroom", an NGO that offers extra-curricular classes to schools.

Liu’s youngest students are six-years-old. She says it’s an ideal age to start learning about the issue.

For generations, sex education was not a familiar part of growing up in China. But now educators are trying to change that for the younger generation. They are hoping that sex education could be part of the regular school curriculum and that comprehensive textbooks be published.

Ma Hongxia is amongst the many volunteers campaigning for the cause. This is her first time teaching sex education.

"This is a challenging subject to teach, especially in rural areas where thinking is still traditional and conservative. I want to sow the seeds and break stereotypes." Ma said.

Ma says this is a new and slowly growing phenomenon in both urban and rural schools. She hopes the government will support them to help China’s children protect themselves against sex offenders.