We need to learn more about Sex Education, click to read more

We need to learn more about Sex Education, Really?
What is sex education?
Sex education, which is sometimes called sexuality education or sex and relationships education, is the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy. Sex education is also about developing young people's skills so that they make informed choices about their behavior, and feel confident and competent about acting on these choices. It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education, partly because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.1 2 3 4 5
What are the aims of sex education?
Sex education seeks both to reduce the risks of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behaviour like unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infection with sexually transmitted diseases, and to enhance the quality of relationships. It is also about developing young people's ability to make decisions over their entire lifetime. Sex education that works, by which we mean that it is effective, is sex education that contributes to this overall aim.
What skills should sex education develop?
If sex education is going to be effective it needs to include opportunities for young people to develop skills, as it can hard for them to act on the basis of only having information.6 7 The kinds of skills young people develop as part of sex education are linked to more general life-skills. For example, being able to communicate, listen, negotiate, ask for and identify sources of help and advice, are useful life-skills and can be applied in terms of sexual relationships. Effective sex education develops young people's skills in negotiation, decision-making, assertion and listening. Other important skills include being able to recognise pressures from other people and to resist them, deal with and challenge prejudice, seek help from adults - including parents, carers and professionals - through the family, community and health and welfare services. Sex education that works, also helps equip young people with the skills to be able to differentiate between accurate and inaccurate information, discuss a range of moral and social issues and perspectives on sex and sexuality, including different cultural attitudes and sensitive issues like sexuality, abortion and contraception.8 9 10
Forming attitudes and beliefs
Young people can be exposed to a wide range of attitudes and beliefs in relation to sex and sexuality. These sometimes appear contradictory and confusing. For example, some health messages emphasis the risks and dangers associated with sexual activity and some media coverage promotes the idea that being sexually active makes a person more attractive and mature. Because sex and sexuality are sensitive subjects, young people and sex educators can have strong views on what attitudes people should hold, and what moral framework should govern people's behaviour - these too can sometimes seem to be at odds. Young people are very interested in the moral and cultural frameworks that binds sex and sexuality. They often welcome opportunities to talk about issues where people have strong views, like abortion, sex before marriage, lesbian and gay issues and contraception and birth control. It is important to remember that talking in a balanced way about differences in opinion does not promote one set of views over another, or mean that one agrees with a particular view. Part of exploring and understanding cultural, religious and moral views is finding out that you can agree to disagree.
Attempts to impose narrow moralistic views about sex and sexuality on young people through sex education have failed.
People providing sex education have attitudes and beliefs of their own about sex and sexuality and it is important not to let these influence negatively the sex education that they provide. For example, even if a person believes that young people should not have sex until they are married, this does not imply withholding important information about safer sex and contraception. Attempts to impose narrow moralistic views about sex and sexuality on young people through sex education have failed.11 12 Rather than trying to deter or frighten young people away from having sex, effective sex education includes work on attitudes and beliefs, coupled with skills development, that enables young people to choose whether or not to have a sexual relationship taking into account the potential risks of any sexual activity.
Effective sex education also provides young people with an opportunity to explore the reasons why people have sex, and to think about how it involves emotions, respect for one self and other people and their feelings, decisions and bodies. Young people should have the chance to explore gender differences and how ethnicity and sexuality can influence people's feelings and options.13 14 They should be able to decide for themselves what the positive qualities of relationships are. It is important that they understand how bullying, stereotyping, abuse and exploitation can negatively influence relationships.So what information should be given to young people?
Young people get information about sex and sexuality from a wide range of sources including each other, through the media including advertising, television and magazines, as well as leaflets, books and websites (such as www.avert.org) which are intended to be sources of information about sex and sexuality. Some of this will be accurate and some inaccurate. Providing information through sex education is therefore about finding out what young people already know and adding to their existing knowledge and correcting any misinformation they may have. For example, young people may have heard that condoms are not effective against HIV/AIDS or that there is a cure for AIDS. It is important to provide information which corrects mistaken beliefs. Without correct information young people can put themselves at greater risk.
Information is also important as the basis on young people can developed well- informed attitudes and views about sex and sexuality. Young people need to have information on all the following topics:
* Sexual development
* Reproduction
* Contraception
* Relationships

They need to have information about the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty and sexual reproduction, including fertilisation and conception and about sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. They also need to know about contraception and birth control including what contraceptives there are, how they work, how people use them, how they decide what to use or not, and how they can be obtained. In terms of information about relationships they need to know about what kinds of relationships there are, about love and commitment, marriage and partnership and the law relating to sexual behaviour and relationships as well as the range of religious and cultural views on sex and sexuality and sexual diversity. In addition, young people should be provided with information about abortion, sexuality, and confidentiality, as well as about the range of sources of advice and support that is available in the community and nationally.
When should sex education start?
Sex education that works starts early, before young people reach puberty, and before they have developed established patterns of behaviour.15 16 17 The precise age at which information should be provided depends on the physical, emotional and intellectual development of the young people as well as their level of understanding. What is covered and also how, depends on who is providing the sex education, when they are providing it, and in what context, as well as what the individual young person wants to know about.
It is important not to delay providing information to young people but to begin when they are young. Providing basic information provides the foundation on which more complex knowledge is built up over time. This also means that sex education has to be sustained. For example, when they are very young, children can be informed about how people grow and change over time, and how babies become children and then adults, and this provides the basis on which they understand more detailed information about puberty provided in the pre-teenage years. They can also when they are young, be provided with information about viruses and germs that attack the body. This provides the basis for talking to them later about infections that can be caught through sexual contact.
Providing basic information provides the foundation on which more complex knowledge is built up over time.
Some people are concerned that providing information about sex and sexuality arouses curiosity and can lead to sexual experimentation. There is no evidence that this happens.18 19 It is important to remember that young people can store up information provided at any time, for a time when they need it later on.
Sometimes it can difficult for adults to know when to raise issues, but the important thing is to maintain an open relationship with children which provides them with opportunities to ask questions when they have them. Parents and carers can also be proactive and engage young people in discussions about sex, sexuality and relationships. Naturally, many parents and their children feel embarrassed about talking about some aspects of sex and sexuality. Viewing sex education as an on-going conversation about values, attitudes and issues as well as providing facts can be helpful. The best basis to proceed on is a sound relationship in which a young person feels able to ask a question or raise an issue if they feel they need to. It has been shown that in countries like The Netherlands, where many families regard it as an important responsibility to talk openly with children about sex and sexuality, this contributes to greater cultural openness about sex and sexuality and improved sexual health among young people.20
The role of many parents and carers as sex educators changes as young people get older and young people are provided with more opportunities to receive formal sex education through schools and community-settings. However, it doesn't get any less important. Because sex education in school tends to take place in blocks of time, it can't always address issues relevant to young people at a particular time, and parents can fulfill a particularly important role in providing information and opportunities to discuss things as they arise.21
Who should provide sex education?
Different settings provide different contexts and opportunities for sex education. At home, young people can easily have one-to-one discussions with parents or carers which focus on specific issues, questions or concerns. They can have a dialogue about their attitudes and views. Sex education at home also tends to take place over a long time, and involve lots of short interactions between parents and children. There may be times when young people seem reluctant to talk, but it is important not to interpret any diffidence as meaning that there is nothing left to talk about. As young people get older advantage can be taken of opportunities provided by things seen on television for example, as an opportunity to initiate conversation. It is also important not to defer dealing with a question or issue for too long as it can suggest that you are unwilling to talk about it.
In school the interaction between the teacher and young people takes a different form and is often provided in organised blocks of lessons. It is not as well suited to advising the individual as it is to providing information from an impartial point of view. The most effective sex education acknowledges the different contributions each setting can make. Schools programmes which involve parents, notifying them what is being taught and when, can support the initiation of dialogue at home. Parents and schools both need to engage with young people about the messages that they get from the media, and give them opportunities for discussion.
In some countries, the involvement of young people themselves in developing and providing sex education has increased as a means of ensuring the relevance and accessibility of provision. Consultation with young people at the point when programmes are designed, helps ensure that they relevant and the involvement of young people in delivering programmes may reinforce messages as they model attitudes and behaviour to their peers.22 23 24
Effective school-based sex education

School-based sex education can be an important and effective way of enhancing young people's knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. There is widespread agreement that formal education should include sex education and what works has been well-researched. Evidence suggests that effective school programmes will include the following elements:
* A focus on reducing specific risky behaviours;
* A basis in theories which explain what influences people's sexual choices and behaviour;
* A clear, and continuously reinforced message about sexual behaviour and risk reduction;
* Providing accurate information about, the risks associated with sexual activity, about contraception and birth control, and about methods of avoiding or deferring intercourse;
* Dealing with peer and other social pressures on young people; Providing opportunities to practise communication, negotiation and assertion skills;
* Uses a variety of approaches to teaching and learning that involve and engage young people and help them to personalise the information;
* Uses approaches to teaching and learning which are appropriate to young people's age, experience and cultural background;
* Is provided by people who believe in what they are saying and have access to support in the form of training or consultation with other sex educators.
Formal programmes with these elements have been shown to increase young people's levels of knowledge about sex and sexuality, put back the average age at which they first have sexual intercourse and decrease risk when they do have sex . All the elements are important and inter-related, and sex education needs to be supported by links to sexual health services, otherwise it is not going to be so effective . It also takes into account the messages about sexual values and behaviour young people get from other sources, like friends and the media. It is also responsive to the needs of the young people themselves - whether they are girls or boys, on their own or in a single sex or mixed sex group, and what they know already, their age and experiences.
Taking Sex Education Forward
Providing effective sex education can seem daunting because it means tackling potentially sensitive issues. However, because sex education comprises many individual activities, which take place across a wide range of settings and periods of time, there are lots of opportunities to contribute.
The nature of a person's contribution depends on their relationship, role and expertise in relation to young people. For example, parents are best placed in relation to young people to provide continuity of individual support and education starting from early in their lives. School-based education programmes are particularly good at providing information and opportunities for skills development and attitude clarification in more formal ways, through lessons within a curriculum. Community-based projects provide opportunities for young people to access advice and information in less formal ways. Sexual health and other health and welfare services can provide access to specific information, support and advice. Sex education through the mass media, often supported by local, regional or national Government and non-governmental agencies and departments, can help to raise public awareness of sex health issues.
Because sex education can take place across a wide range of settings, there are lots of opportunities to contribute.
Further development of sex education partly depends on joining up these elements in a coherent way to meet the needs of young people. There is also a need to pay more attention to the needs of specific groups of young people like young parents, young lesbian, gay and bisexual people, as well as those who may be out of touch with services and schools and socially vulnerable, like young refugees and asylum-seekers, young people in care, young people in prisons, and also those living on the street.
The circumstances and context available to parents and other sex educators are different from place to place. Practical or political realities in a particular country may limit people's ability to provide young people with comprehensive sex education combining all the elements in the best way possible. But the basic principles outlined here apply everywhere. By making our own contribution and valuing that made by others, and by being guided by these principles, we can provide more sex education that works and improve the support we offer to young people…From http://www.avert.org/

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Rudely Raping in cambodia

Cambodia is one of other poorest countries. there are lot of poor people especially original Khmer living at the country side or remote area. lost of good security and lack of food and developing. Raping between fathers and their daughters is at remote area or in the town too. However, there are also some organization to observe this problem right now Like A federal jury has convicted a retired US Marine captain of travelling to Cambodia to have sex with underage girls after hearing testimony from his victims.

Michael Joseph Pepe, 54, of Oxnard, California faces up to 210 years in prison for the guilty verdicts on seven felony counts, the US Attorney's office in Los Angeles said in a statement on Thursday.

During the trial, six girls testified that Pepe drugged, bound, beat and raped them and a prostitute told the court on videotape about bringing him young victims, federal prosecutors said.

A total of seven girls, ages 9 to 12 at the time, were sexually abused by the former Marine captain, the statement said.

Prosecutors also provided evidence seized by Cambodian authorities including rope and cloth strips used to restrain the victims, sedatives and homemade child pornography.

"This case represented one of the most egregious examples of international sex tourism we have ever investigated and the jury's verdict is a reminder that pedophiles who attempt to evade detection and prosecution by committing sex crimes overseas face serious consequences," said Robert Schoch, special agent of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of investigations in Los Angeles.

Pepe was prosecuted under a federal law adopted five years ago, the Protect Act, that bolstered penalties against predatory crimes involving children outside the United States.

The investigation was a joint effort by the Cambodian National Police, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service....ok if any one have more about this please share your comment bellow

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Life and sex stay together? Click to read it

Wow, talking about sex, every one need it, even though Ta Jas ( old men) think of it and always think of SRey Kmeng (young girls). we, all men should care about our wife I mean if you like sex if you get married with any one who are older than you, you will be dis pointed with having sex. as you know clearly about girls and women, she will be desire less of having sex when she gets weak during her Ror.Doe get low, so she will be lazy of having sex any more. Ok for now if you have more idea about this please leave the comments here

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Estimation of HIV/AIAS Countries in Asian..Click to read more

Cambodia

The first case of HIV/AIDS in Cambodia was officially identified in 1991 through screening of blood donors, although HIV had been detected in Cambodian refugees in Thailand two years earlier. Sex workers and men seeking treatment for sexually transmitted infections were among the first groups to report high levels of HIV infection. Today, with an adult prevalence rate of 2.7 percent, Cambodia, one of the region’s poorest countries, has the highest infection rate in Asia, with an estimated 170,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS in 2001. Under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Cambodia received more than $16.8 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004, approximately $17.4 million in FY 2005, approximately $19.3 million in FY 2006, and is providing $19 million in FY 2007 to support an integrated HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care program. 2008 Country Profile: Cambodia
National HIV prevalence rate among adults (ages 15 to 49): 0.8 percent1
Adults and children (ages 0-49) living with HIV at the end of 2007: 75,0001
AIDS deaths (adults and children) in 2007: 6,9001
AIDS orphans at the end of 2007: not available1
Under PEPFAR, Cambodia received more than $16.8 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004, approximately $17.4 million in FY 2005, approximately $19.3 million in FY 2006, and $19 million in FY 2007 to support an integrated HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care program. PEPFAR is providing nearly $17.9 million in FY 2008.
Recognizing the global HIV/AIDS pandemic as one of the greatest health challenges of our time, President George W. Bush announced the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003 — the largest international health initiative in history by one nation to address a single disease. The United States is changing the paradigm for development, rejecting the flawed “donor-recipient” mentality and replacing it with an ethic of true partnership. These partnerships are having a global impact and transforming the face of our world today.
Partnership to Fight HIV/AIDS
The Royal Government of Cambodia has committed significant resources to fighting HIV/AIDS. Through PEPFAR, the U.S. Government (USG) and its partners are working in partnership with the Royal Government of Cambodia to implement Cambodia’s National Strategic Plan for HIV. Close cooperation between partner governments; non-governmental, community-based and faith-based organizations; and people living with HIV/AIDS are essential in building effective and sustainable HIV prevention, treatment and care services. Given the limited health care resources and capacity in many communities, PEPFAR is committed to building integrated HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services that maximize the effectiveness of available services.

PEPFAR Results in Cambodia
# of individuals receiving antiretroviral treatment in fiscal year 2007 5,700
# of pregnant women receiving prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services in fiscal year 2007 31,200
# of pregnant women receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis for PMTCT in fiscal year 2007 170
# of counseling and testing encounters (in settings other than PMTCT) in fiscal year 2007 108,100

Note: All USG bilateral HIV/AIDS programs are developed and implemented within the context of multi-sectoral national HIV/AIDS strategies, under the host country’s national authority. Programming is designed to reflect the comparative advantage of the USG within the national strategy, and it also leverages other resources, including both other international partner and private-sector resources. The numbers reported reflect USG programs that provide direct support at the point of service delivery. Individuals receiving services as a result of the USG’s contribution to systems strengthening beyond those counted as receiving direct USG support are not included in this total. Numbers may be adjusted as attribution criteria and reporting systems are refined. Numbers above 100 are rounded to nearest 100.
HIV/AIDS in Cambodia

HIV prevalence in Cambodia is among the highest in Asia. Although Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world, extraordinary HIV prevention and control efforts exerted by the Royal Government of Cambodia and its partners have helped to reduce the spread of HIV.2 Cambodia’s HIV/AIDS epidemic is spread primarily through heterosexual transmission and revolves largely around the sex trade. HIV transmission occurs mainly in sexual partnerships where one partner has engaged in high-risk behaviors.3 This increased proportion of infections among women may reflect declining prevalence rates among males, as well as deaths among males infected in the early years of Cambodia’s epidemic. Significantly, a low prevalence rate in the general population masks far higher prevalence rates in certain sub-populations, such as injecting drug users, people in prostitution, men who have sex with men, karaoke hostesses and beer girls, and mobile and migrant populations.
1 UNAIDS, Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, 2008.
2 Vonthanak Saphonn, MD, PhD, et al. “Trends of HIV-1 Seroincidence Among HIV-1 Sentinel Surveillance Groups in Cambodia, 1999-2002.” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 39(5), August 15, 2005: pp. 587-592.
3 Elizabeth Pisani, et al. “Back to Basics in HIV Prevention: Focus on Exposure,” British Medical Journal. 326(21), June 2003: pp. 1384 -1387.
Cambodia Logo PEPFAR Achievements in Cambodia to Date
Challenges to PEPFAR Implementation
Cambodia is a post-conflict country, making scaling up activities a significant challenge. Major constraints to the implementation of HIV/AIDS activities include:
* High levels of high-risk sexual and substance use behaviors;
* Poverty, which drives prostitution, survival sex, and corruption;
* Barriers limiting access to prevention, treatment and care services, including distance to service locations, limited financial resources, a lack of transportation and infrastructure, and geographic barriers;
* Low salaries in the public health care sector; and
* Limited skills and capacity of health care providers.

Reducing Stigma and Discrimination against People Living with HIV/AIDS
With support from PEPFAR, Pact Cambodia, an indigenous non-governmental organization, and the Cambodia People Living with HIV/AIDS Network are implementing the Community Response to Reducing HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination Project. The project uses community fora to educate community members about HIV/AIDS. Lorn Khoeun, an HIV-positive 35-year-old from Tanuk village, witnessed the positive impact of the PEPFAR-supported community forum in her village. After losing her husband to an HIV/AIDS-related illness three years ago, Lorn Khoeun and her daughter faced stigma and discrimination from members of the community as a result of Lorn Khoeun’s HIV-positive status. Neighbors were afraid to buy watermelons or food from Lorn Khoeun, and her food selling business suffered as a result. Lorn Khoeun and fellow community members attended the community forum in her village where they discussed HIV/AIDS awareness; stigma and discrimination; HIV/AIDS law; and raising and mobilizing support for people living with HIV/AIDS from communities, local authorities, health care providers and opinion leaders. Since the forum, community members have altered their behavior and are more supportive of people living with HIV/AIDS. They are also friendlier towards Lorn Khoeun, buying her food and products, visiting her house, playing with her children, and eating together with her. Now, she can continue her business and support her daughter.
Lorn Khoeun’s food selling business is supported by community members.
Lorn Khoeun’s food selling business is supported by
community members.


Phally lives positively and teaches others to do the same.
Phally lives positively and teaches others to do
the same. Phally: The Story of a Courageous Woman
When the home-based care team first visited Phally in December 1999, she was depressed and sick with an HIV-related illness. At that time, there were minimal HIV/AIDS services available in her area, and a referral system linking patients to other available services was non-existent. Support from PEPFAR helped to establish a continuum of care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Phally’s home district. Phally never gave up her desire to make a positive difference in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. The involvement of Phally and other people living with HIV/AIDS in the continuum of care is central to the process of integrating and improving the quality of HIV/AIDS care, treatment and support services. Phally is now a skilled and active peer-educator and counselor, who serves as a positive role model for her peers. Her friendly, lively personality inspires all who meet her. “I’m a member of the care and treatment team at Moung Russey Referral Hospital,” Phally said. “I facilitate the ‘Friends Help Friends’ monthly support group meetings at the hospital. I also conduct counseling sessions with people living with HIV/AIDS, to prepare them for beginning antiretrovirals. An important part of my job is to visit people living with HIV/AIDS and their families while they are hospitalized, to provide moral support and information about HIV/AIDS and self care.”
Buddhist Monks Provide HIV/AIDS Care

With support from PEPFAR, Buddhism for Development is helping to bridge the gap between the religious and secular communities in Cambodia. Buddhism for Development provides home-based care to people living with HIV/AIDS and services to children who have lost parents to HIV/AIDS. The group operates a six-week “Peace Development School,” at which monks learn to provide HIV/AIDS-related health care and study vocational training and agricultural extension methods. Of the monks who have gone through the Peace Development School, many returned to their home villages and established HIV/AIDS associations that provide HIV-prevention services and home-based care. These monks also established centers at pagodas, providing direct care and support for orphans and vulnerable children, and working to find ways to keep these children in school.

Overview of AIDS and HIV in Asia
In the early to mid-1980s, while other parts of the world were beginning to deal with serious HIV & AIDS epidemics, Asia remained relatively unaffected by this newly discovered health problem. By the early 1990s, however, AIDS epidemics had emerged in several Asian countries, and by the end of that decade, HIV was spreading rapidly in many areas of the continent.
Today, HIV/AIDS is a growing problem in every region of Asia. East Asia has been identified by UNAIDS as one of the areas of the world where ‘the most striking increases’ in the numbers of people living with HIV have occurred in recent years (along with Eastern Europe and Central Asia).1 Although national HIV prevalence rates in Asia appear to be relatively low (particularly in comparison with sub-Saharan Africa), the populations of some Asian countries are so vast that these low percentages actually represent very large numbers of people living with HIV. The latest statistics compiled by UNAIDS suggest that at the end of 2007, 5 million people were living with HIV in Asia.2

Various factors make Asia vulnerable to the spread of HIV, including poverty, inequality, unequal status of women, stigma, cultural myths about sex and high levels of migration.3 4 Some experts predict that Asia may eventually overtake Africa as the part of the world with the highest number of HIV-infected people. Others, however, argue that Asia’s epidemics are on a different trajectory to those found in Africa, as HIV infection in Asia is still largely occurring among members of ‘high-risk groups’, unlike Africa where HIV and AIDS are widespread amongst all sections of some countries’ populations.5
Although its useful to understand the overall impact that AIDS is having on the Asian region as a whole, there is no single ‘Asian epidemic’; each country in the region faces a different situation.
“It’s very difficult to speak about ‘the Asian epidemic’. Whatever we come up with, we always find a big exception in Asia.”
Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS 6

Asian countries are experiencing different trends. HIV infection rates are growing in parts of India, but have stabilised or declined in other parts of the country. In Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand, there has been evidence of declines in HIV infection levels. In Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam, meanwhile, the number of people living with HIV has rapidly increased. In Vietnam, this number more than doubled between 2000 and 2005, and HIV has now been detected in every province and city in the country. It is feared that the the speed and severity of the growing HIV epidemic in Pakistan, is outpacing the response. The number of people newly infected with HIV is also rising in China and Bangladesh, although at a much slower pace.7
How HIV is transmitted in Asia

* When HIV is transmitted through unprotected sex in Asia, it’s often during paid sex. More people in Asia engage in sex work (either as a client or a worker), than any other type of behaviour that can carry a high risk of HIV infection.8 High levels of HIV infection have been documented among sex workers and their clients in parts of India, and this situation is mirrored in other Asian countries; in South and South East Asian countries outside India, it’s thought that sex workers and their clients accounted for almost half of people living with HIV in 2005.9
* Injecting drug use is a major driving factor in the spread of HIV throughout Asia, notably in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. In China, nearly half of all people infected with HIV are believed to have become infected through injecting drug use, and in North-East India injecting drug use is the most common HIV transmission route.10 There is often an overlap between communities of IDUs and communities of sex workers in Asia, as those who sell sex may do it to fund a drug habit, or they may have become involved in sex work first before turning to drug use.11

* Sex between men accounted for some of the earliest recorded cases of HIV in Asia, and transmission through this route is still a prominent feature of many countries’ epidemics. Most men who have sex with men (MSM) in Asia do not identify themselves as gay because of cultural norms that discourage homosexuality; in some cases they may even be heads of families, with children.12 This means that MSM can serve as a ‘bridge’ for HIV to spread into the broader population. HIV outbreaks are becoming evident among MSM in Cambodia, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.13
* Mother-to-child transmission is also a significant HIV transmission route in Asia. At the end of 2007, it was estimated that 140,000 children in South and South-East Asia, and 7,800 children in East Asia, were living with HIV, most of whom became infected through mother-to-child transmission.14
HIV prevention in Asia
HIV prevention sign, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
HIV prevention sign in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Asia has been the base for some extremely successful large-scale HIV prevention programmes. Well-funded, politically supported campaigns in Thailand and Cambodia have led to significant declines in HIV-infection levels, and HIV prevention aimed at sex workers and their clients has played a large role in these achievements. The Indian state of Tamil Nadu is another area where HIV prevention has had a substantial impact. Here high-profile public campaigns discouraged risky sexual behaviour, made condoms more widely available, and provided STI testing and treatment for people who needed them. These efforts resulted in a large decline in risky sex.15

Successes such as these prove that interventions can change the course of Asia's AIDS epidemics. As HIV infection rates continue to grow however, it's clear that more needs to be done. The groups most at risk of becoming infected – sex workers, IDUs, and MSM – are all too often being neglected. For instance, although injecting drug use is one of the most common HIV transmission routes in Asia, it is estimated that less than one in ten IDUs in the region have access to prevention services.16 Similarly men who have sex with men are overlooked and poorly monitored by most governments, even though it is firmly established that this group play a significant role in some countries’ epidemics.17
The coverage of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services is also very low in Asia. In South-East Asia, less than 5% of pregnant women are offered HIV counselling and testing.18 Across East, South and South-East Asia, the proportion of HIV-infected pregnant women receiving ARVs is just 5%.19
See our HIV prevention around the world page for more about efforts to stem the spread of HIV in Asia and other parts of the world.
AIDS treatment in Asia
The availability of AIDS treatment has more than tripled in Asia since 2004. At the end of 2007 an estimated 420,000 people in the region were receiving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). Although this rise is encouraging, access to treatment varies widely across the region. Overall it is estimated that three quarters of people in need of ARVs in Asia still have no access to them.20
HIV Positive man and antiretroviral medicines
HIV positive man sitting at home
before taking his antiretroviral medicines
A major constraint is the high cost of ARVs, as both first- and second-line drugs are still unaffordable to most governments. Cheaper generic drugs are now produced by a number of pharmaceutical manufacturers in Asia, and together with the increasing availability of lower-cost branded ARVs, it’s hoped that this will make it easier for governments to obtain and distribute the drugs. Yet even where drugs are available, the poor state of healthcare in many Asian countries, particularly a shortage of trained doctors, is hindering governments' abilities to organise life-long treatment programmes for millions of people living with HIV.21
For the latest statistics for treatment provision in individual countries in Asia, see our AIDS treatment targets page.
Country profiles - South East Asia
Cambodia

Cambodia’s HIV epidemic can be traced back to 1991. After an initial rapid increase, HIV infection levels declined after the late 1990s, and have reached a steady level in recent years. It’s believed that interventions with sex workers, carried out by the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), played a role in this decline; the adoption of a ‘100% condom’ policy that enforced condom use in brothels led to a substantial rise in condom use among sex workers and their clients, and a drop in HIV infection levels among brothel-based sex workers. Despite these achievements, Cambodia still has the second highest HIV prevalence rate in Asia, with 0.8% of the adult population infected. Ongoing concerns include low levels of condom use among MSM, an increase in sex work occurring outside of brothels (making it harder to reach sex workers with interventions), and mother-to-child transmission of HIV – around one third of new infections occur through this route. HIV is mostly transmitted through heterosexual sex in Cambodia, and almost half of those infected are women.22 23

Indonesia

High levels of HIV infection are found amongst IDUs in Indonesia, and also among sex workers and their clients. Around 270,000 people in Indonesia are living with HIV, this number has risen sharply in recent years due to several factors: the country’s extensive sex industry; limited testing and treatment clinics and laboratories for sexually transmitted infections (STIs); a highly mobile population; a rapidly growing population of people who inject drugs; and the challenges created by major economic and natural crises that Indonesia has experienced (the Asian financial crisis heavily affected the country in 1997, and the 2004 Tsunami devastated parts of Northern Sumatra, the largest island in Indonesia).24
Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos)
Despite being surrounded by countries that have relatively high HIV infection levels (Thailand, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar), Laos has a comparatively small HIV problem. There are various reasons for this: the government was quick to acknowledge AIDS when it first emerged in the country, and took action to warn people about it; Laos has not seen the same level of large-scale migration that has occurred in other parts of Asia; there are relatively high rates of condom use among sex workers and their clients; and it’s thought that very few people in the country inject drugs.25 26

Malaysia

Malaysia’s HIV epidemic is largely driven by injecting drug use. Other than IDUs, HIV is spreading quickly amongst women, fishermen, lorry drivers and factory workers. A senior health official in Malaysia has warned that the number of people living with HIV in the country – currently around 80,000 – could rise to 300,000 by 2015 if nothing is done. The government launched a five-year strategic plan to tackle HIV in 2006, which includes drug substitution therapy and needle exchange programmes for drug users.27

Myanmar (Burma)

After first appearing in the mid-to-late 1980s, HIV became increasingly common in Myanmar. Today, with an estimated 0.7% of the adult population infected, the country faces a serious epidemic. Myanmar’s authoritarian military regime is widely condemned for its human rights abuses, and in 2005 these concerns led the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria to withdraw it’s proposed $98.4 million grants for the country.

The Philippines

The Philippines has a very low HIV prevalence, with well under 0.1% of the population infected. Even in groups such as sex workers and MSM that are typically associated with higher levels of HIV, prevalence rates above 1% have not yet been detected – in the case of sex workers, this is possibly due to efforts to screen and treat those selling sex since the early 1990s. There are reasons to believe that this situation may not last, however. Condom use is not the norm in paid sex, drug users commonly share injecting equipment in some areas, and among Filipino youth, there is evidence of complacency about AIDS.

Singapore

Although the number of people living with HIV in Singapore is relatively small, the country’s status as an international travel and business hub, along with the high number of infections found in surrounding countries, make it possible that the country will experience a more serious epidemic in the future. In 2006 a record 357 people in Singapore were newly diagnosed with HIV. To combat these rising figures, the government has chosen to focus on preventing mother-to-child transmission, but controversially, has rejected widespread condom promotion.28 Another controversial policy in Singapore is the strict law banning sex between men, which campaigners argue undermines efforts to promote safe sex among MSM.29

Thailand

Thailand is an example of a country where a strong national commitment to fighting AIDS has paid off, with widespread access to treatment and an admirable history of HIV prevention efforts. However, some of these past prevention successes are starting to be undermined by a current lack of HIV prevention, rising STI rates, and a growing number of MSM becoming infected with HIV.

Vietnam

Around 40,000 people are becoming infected with HIV each year in Vietnam, mostly through injecting drug use or paid sex. The number of people living with HIV in Vietnam doubled between 2000 and 2005, and this rise included a large increase in the number of people who became infected through injecting drug use. Levels of HIV among injecting drug users reached as high as 63% in Hanoi, and 67% in Hai Phong, in 2005.
See our South East Asian statistics page for more data on this region.
East Asia

China

China is seen as a major source of concern by many AIDS experts, because of the large size of its population and the existence of social, economic and cultural factors that make it easy for HIV to spread. At the moment 700,000 people in China are living with HIV (0.1% of the adult population), but it’s feared that this number will increase dramatically in future years, as HIV spreads from the groups most at risk – injecting drug users and those who buy or sell sex – to the general population.30 31

Japan

In 2007, around 9,600 adults and children were living with HIV in Japan.32 Data released by the Japanese government in February 2007 showed that annual numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS cases has risen to an all time high in 2006, to 914 and 390 people respectively.33 The most prominent rise occurred among MSM, who it’s previously been documented account for at least 60% of annually reported HIV infections in Japan.34
South Asia

Afghanistan

There have only been a small number of cases of HIV in Afghanistan, in contrast to the relatively large numbers recorded in the neighbouring nations of Pakistan and Iran. Nonetheless HIV and AIDS are growing problems. Conditions are in place for an epidemic to develop, including high numbers of displaced people, high levels of illiteracy, low social status for women, and a shortage of health facilities. Afghanistan is one of the world’s leading producers of opium, and the availability of drugs could lead to increased levels of injecting drug use.35 A 2006 study found that around one third of IDUs in the capital city of Kabul had shared contaminated injecting equipment, and that 4% were infected with HIV.36

Bangladesh

The first HIV/AIDS case in Bangladesh was reported in 1989. Since 1994, HIV infection levels have increased, although the problem is still relatively small scale, with around 12,000 adults – 0.2% of the total population – infected. It's nonetheless predicted that Bangladesh may gradually be heading towards an epidemic, unless a greater response is developed. At the moment HIV is mainly confined to groups such as IDUs, migrant workers and MSM, and it's reported that this focus on risk groups has led to a lack of urgency among policy makers in dealing with the problem.37

India

India is experiencing a diverse HIV epidemic that affects states in different ways, and to different extents. The groups most affected include injecting drug users, sex workers, truck drivers, migrant workers, and men who have sex with men. Some have predicted that India will soon be experiencing a ‘generalised’ epidemic, where the HIV prevalence rate – currently 0.3% in India ­­– rises above 1%. Others have played down current estimates of the numbers infected, and have argued that, because HIV transmission in India still largely occurs among risk groups, its unlikely that HIV will spread widely among the general population.38 Regardless of the future path of India’s epidemic, it’s undeniable that AIDS is having a devastating impact, and that there are still many major issues – including stigma and poor availability of AIDS treatment – that urgently need to be addressed.

Pakistan

Pakistan’s first reported case of HIV occurred in 1987. Until the late 1990s, most subsequent cases occurred in men who had become infected while living or working abroad. After 1999, HIV and AIDS cases began to be recorded among Pakistani sex workers, IDUs, and prisoners.39 Despite a low overall HIV prevalence (0.1%), social and economic conditions in Pakistan – including poverty, low levels of education, and high levels of risk behaviour among IDUs and sex workers – are likely to facilitate the spread of HIV in coming years.40
Preference From… http://www.pepfar.gov/pepfar/press/81877.htm. http://www.avert.org/

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Every School Needs to have AIDS Education..... Click to read more

Basic AIDS education remains fundamental to the global effort to prevent HIV transmission. AIDS education can – and does – target all ages, and sexually active adults are one principal target. AIDS education is also vitally important for young people and the school offers a crucial point-of-contact for their receiving this education. Providing AIDS education in schools, however, is sometimes a contentious issue. This page will explain why AIDS education in school is so vital, why it is so controversial, and offer some suggestions as to how an effective program can be sensibly and efficiently achieved.
Why do we need AIDS education in schools?
Many young people lack basic information about HIV and AIDS, and are unaware of the ways in which HIV infection can occur, and of the ways in which HIV infection can be prevented. Schools are an excellent point of contact for young people – almost all young people attend school for some part of their childhood, and while they are there, they expect to learn new information, and are more receptive to it than they might be in another environment.
Most young people become sexually active in their teens, and by the time this occurs they need to know how to prevent themselves becoming infected with HIV.
Other ways in which young people might access AIDS education may not be universal – not all young people will access the same media, for example, or access the same medical services. However, the school is a place where almost all young people can receive the same message. Other media by which young people are presumed to learn about sexual health may not exist in all cases or may be misleading.
Traditionally, the responsibility of teaching a young person about ‘the birds and the bees’ has been seen as being a parental one. In these days of HIV, however, this type of basic information about reproduction is insufficient and will not give young people the information they need to be able to protect themselves. Parents may not provide even this limited information because they are too embarrassed, or because their beliefs oppose it. Young people, too, may be embarrassed discussing sexual matters in a situation where their parents are present. At school they are in a situation where they are independent, and not subject to parental disapproval.
“ If I wouldn't of learned about all the STD's that I could get from being sexually active I might not be a virgin right now. ”
- Erika -
In some countries, young people may not be able to access family planning or sexual health clinics because of their age – or they may be able to access such services but think that their age precludes them from access. Young people often know that they require information, especially if they are becoming sexually active, but may feel too embarrassed to actively seek out sexual health information, or may fear that their parents may find out. In many parts of the world, the fear of ‘what if they tell my parents’ still prevents young people from approaching medical staff, especially family doctors who may know their parents.
The principal reason that AIDS education in schools is so important is that all over the world, a huge amount of young people still become infected with HIV. Most young people become sexually active in their teens, and by the time this occurs they need to know how to prevent themselves becoming infected with HIV. If they are to be enabled to protect themselves, they must be given the information that empowers them to do so.
Attitudes to AIDS education in schools
The main obstacle to effective AIDS education for young people in schools is the adults who determine the curriculum. These adults – parents, curriculum planners, teachers or legislators – often consider the subject to be too ‘adult’ for young people – they have an idea of ‘protecting the innocence’ of young people. This often occurs for moral or religious reasons, and can cause very heated debate.
There is also obstruction to adequate AIDS education from adults who are concerned that teaching young people about sex, about sexually transmitted infections, HIV and pregnancy – that providing them with this information will somehow encourage young people to begin having sex when they otherwise might not have done.
“ I come from a family who believes that having sex out of marriage is not the moral thing to do. I also don't think sex ed. is something that young kids should be learning. Learning sex at a young age is like provoking more young people to have sex just for the fact they want to experience it for themselves instead of just getting information about it. ”

- Monica -
This attitude still prevents adequate HIV and sex education from being taught in schools, in spite of the fact that it is a view that the majority do not share. A study in America, for example, shows that the majority of Americans (55%) believes that giving teens information about how to obtain and use condoms will not encourage them to have sexual intercourse earlier than they would have otherwise (39% say it would encourage them)1 .
The same study tells us that only 7% of Americans believe that young people should not receive sex education in schools. Many adults recognise that informing young people about the dangers of HIV is the best way to prevent them from becoming infected in later life. Many schools in many countries do provide adequate AIDS education – but many, sill, do not. Young people are rarely asked for their opinions by those adults who decide what they will study – but when they are asked, they almost always demand more comprehensive sex and HIV education.

“ I am a student, living in Johannesburg, South Africa. I believe that sex ed that is handled appropriately, and that is age-appropriate, will really empower kids to make healthier, informed and positive choices. ”
- Maire -
In some places, legislation may dictate the type and quality of AIDS education that schools are allowed to offer – some countries have no policies on AIDS education, allowing schools to include it or not, as they decide. Other countries may have policies that specifically preclude AIDS education, or certain types of AIDS education. Legislation allowing or inhibiting certain types of AIDS education often comes from the moral views of the voting majority – or reflects the religious attitudes of the government in power. The most commonly used types of AIDS education are discussed in our page on AIDS education and young people.
It is within the context of these attitudes and beliefs that teachers and educators must work to provide the most effective information and education they are able to.
When should young people start to be taught about AIDS?
There is no set age at which AIDS education should start, and different countries have different regulations and recommendations. In some areas this is a very sensitive subject, and some groups regard teaching young people how to protect themselves as a form of abuse. It seems obvious, however, that people should know how to protect themselves before they begin having sex, rather than after.
“ At school, my sex ed was pretty poor. It started in year 8 when we are about 12-13, which is kind of 2 late really. Quite a few of my friends had already had heterosexual sex and had not protected themselves at all. ”
- Laura -
Especially when educating young people, AIDS education often shares territory with sex education. Education which teaches about sex and sexuality can also teach about preventing pregnancy and STI infection.
“ I know by the time I was taught about sex it was too late, I had already made my mistake. ”
- Safiyyah -

AIDS education should start at about seven or eight years of age. When working with very young people, this type of education does not necessarily need to involve learning about sexual activities or drugs, but should at least teach children that 'AIDS' is not a pejorative term of abuse. Playground name-calling, to some extent, reflects attitudes in general society, but it can also grow up to become discrimination.
Planning a good curriculum
In an academic situation, especially with younger learners, some subjects fail to impart information to the students simply because the students are not interested, and do not pay attention. This is unlikely to be the case with AIDS education; the simple fact that AIDS education involves the discussion of sex – a topic of fascination for young people who are discovering their own sexualities – is likely to ensure at least initial attention. This attention will wane, however, if the information is not imparted in a lesson interesting enough to maintain students’ concentration. It is not only important to have AIDS education, but to provide AIDS education in the right way.
In addition to providing information, a good, class-based lesson where a pupil is amongst his/her peers can help to shape attitudes, reduce prejudice, and alter behaviour.
The following are a few of the important points to consider when planning an AIDS education lesson or curriculum.
Age of students

Is the material that you intend to cover appropriate to the age of the young people in the class? Education about HIV needs to commence early in childhood and develop through adolescence and into adulthood – starting before students are of an age at which they might encounter high-risk situations, but at an early age young people do not require detailed information. This information should be delivered gradually, as they grow older.
Classroom prejudices
School playgrounds often contain many prejudices, and you will probably have to deal with more than one in an AIDS-awareness lesson. HIV+ people, especially, face prejudice around the world that can lead to the continued spread of the virus. In some schools, the words ‘gay or ‘AIDS’ may be used as a term of abuse – this must be addressed, too. Certainly, the material covered in class must reflect the diversity of the community. Prejudices often result from ignorance. ‘Can I get it from toilet-seats?’ is a common question illustrating just such ignorance. This type of misunderstanding not only engenders prejudice, it also causes unnecessary anxiety.
Current knowledge

AIDS education can be targeted towards areas of informational need if you are aware of what young people already know about AIDS. The best way to find out this information is by asking them.
Active learning
It is not enough to simply give students information about HIV and AIDS for them to learn. The learning-by-rote approach common in traditional academic settings provides students with information but does not allow them to absorb the social and practical aspects of how this information might be put to use. AIDS education should never involve pupils sitting silently, writing and memorising facts.
Active learning offers an opportunity to make AIDS education lessons fun
‘Active learning’ approaches are now seen as the most effective way that young people can learn health-related and social-skills. Group-work and role-play are particularly important methods in which students might discover the practical aspects of the information they are given. These methods also allow pupils an opportunity to practise and build skills –saying “No” to sex, for example – and pupils retain information better if they are offered an opportunity to apply it.
Active learning, furthermore, offers an opportunity to make AIDS education lessons fun. AIDS education classes can be constructed to involve quizzes, games, or drama, for example – and can still be very effective learning sessions.
Involving parents and guardians
Many schools already have a good deal of input from parents and families of their pupils, and this input may go as far as being allowed to determine the content of the curriculum. If possible, it is usually advantageous to involve the parents and guardians in the planning process, before an AIDS education curriculum is decided – parents who have already agreed the content that their children will study are unlikely to complain about it being unsuitable. Furthermore, parents who are involved in the education of their children will be able to give additional support, if it is needed, outside the classroom.
Other sources
Outside agencies or organisations may also be able to make a positive contribution to an AIDS education curriculum in a way that the school’s internal resources will not. Some local health agencies will offer talks within a school, as will some local HIV organisations. Check out what is available. This has the additional advantage of building a bridge between the pupils and an external source of help or advice.
Legislation

Some areas and countries will have legislation covering what sex or AIDS education can or should be given. If this is the case, you will have to make sure that your curriculum conforms to local guidelines. Other legislative areas in which AIDS may effect your school are :
Bullying
– does your school’s anti-bullying policy adequately protect HIV+ and gay pupils?
Admissions
– does your school’s admissions policy contain measures to prevent discrimination against HIV+ pupils?
Health and Safety
– does your school’s health & safety policy include universal precautions policy?
Considering cultures
Planning an AIDS education syllabus should involve some consideration of the culture in which the learners live. Many cultures have a specific and well-defined set of views on human sexuality, and even at an early age, young learners will have been influenced by them.
The primary factor in determining what information is given to the class should be their age (see above), and cultural attitudes cannot be allowed to censor the information given. Most cultures frown, for example, on talking openly about HIV transmission routes, but this is a necessary part of the education process. AIDS education should provide this information and still remain sensitive, wherever possible, to cultural and religious sensibilities.
The culture of the learners is an ever-present factor in the classroom, and this culture provides the context in which AIDS education must take place.
What materials are already available?
In the years since the AIDS epidemic began, there have been many disparate efforts to prevent or reduce HIV infection by educating people about the dangers of AIDS, and enabling them to protect themselves from infection. A good deal of classroom material has been created, focusing on young people from cultures around the world. Too often, when an AIDS education curriculum is to be planned, the planners spend considerable time constructing a resource that is ultimately unnecessary as there are already materials available that would suffice. If necessary, spend time adapting existing resources for your class, but it should now never be necessary to produce completely new material.
Making it cross-curricular

HIV and AIDS education is often provided that deals only with medical and biological facts, and not with the real-life situations that young people find themselves in AIDS should also not be looked at from an entirely social perspective, either – effective AIDS education needs to take into account the fact that both scientific and social knowledge are vital to providing a pupil with adequate AIDS awareness. There is much more to HIV prevention than simply imparting the basic facts. Knowing how the virus reproduces, for example, won’t help someone to negotiate condom use. AIDS education must be a balance of scientific knowledge and social skills. Only if life skills are taught, and matters such as relationships, sexuality and the risks of drug use discussed, will young people be able to handle situations where they might be at risk of HIV infection. Furthermore, questions or comments about HIV may arise at unexpected moments, and teachers from a wide range of disciplines need to know how to answer them.
Are any students HIV+?
When dealing with any class of young people, you can’t make assumptions about their HIV status. In high-prevalence areas it is especially likely that one or some class-members will be HIV+, but this could be the case anywhere. Universal precautions should be taught as part of a HIV awareness lesson. AIDS education specifically tailored for HIV+ people is an important aspect of HIV prevention, but applies only in a class where every student is HIV+.
Sexuality of students
On average, at least one student in every class will be gay. You can’t make assumptions about the sexuality of the students in your class, or about the sexualities in the families that they come from – and for this reason, your HIV lessons need to include information about and for people of all sexualities.
Making it work in the classroom
The process of educating young people about AIDS can be a challenging one. Even if all the factors mentioned above are considered, a lesson can be unsuccessful if the teacher is inadequately prepared, uncomfortable or uncommitted. Anyone who has experienced the education system is aware that the atmosphere within a lesson is key to students retention of the course information.
Teaching the teachers
Teachers need to be clear on their own feelings and beliefs.
AIDS education necessarily involves some detailed discussion of sexual matters. If teachers are uncomfortable with this, they will convey this discomfort to the class – and the message that ‘sex is not nice to talk about ’ is the precise opposite of what AIDS education aims to convey. Before taking an AIDS education class, teachers need to be clear on their own feelings and beliefs as they relate to sex, death, illness and drug use.

Teachers also need to feel that they are entirely clear on the information that they will be passing on – they need to feel confident that they are able to answer any questions that might be asked. This necessitates an adequate level of teacher-training – something that is sadly lacking in many parts of the world. In India, for example, where estimates suggest that more than 2 million people are living with HIV, 70% of teachers have been given no training or information at all 2.
Listening to the learners
Young people who have an input into their AIDS education have said that they want their AIDS education to take place in all academic years of their school, to use active learning methods, to include a balance of facts and social awareness, to be built on what pupils already know – and, crucially, to be a separate topic. Whilst Biology, Geography and English can – and should – mention AIDS in the context of their subject matter, young people specifically ask for syllabus time devoted to providing them with good, well-planned and balanced AIDS education.
It is also important to recognise that the young people who make up the class may be uncomfortable with the subject – for cultural or personal reasons. Learners cannot be compelled to feel comfortable, but can be induced. Some basic tips that can help to decrease discomfort are : * Don’t expect a learner to speak in front of their classmates – unless they have volunteered to do so.
* Allow learners to consult and plan in groups before presenting any information to the class.
* Remember that some learners may have relevant personal issues that they will be reluctant to share – they may be gay, for example, of HIV+.
* Listen to the learners – allow the class to ask questions and to express what they want from an AIDS syllabus.
Last word
In spite of all the efforts that the past two decades have seen in AIDS prevention, the epidemic still presents a serious challenge to societies around the world. Every year, increasing numbers of people globally are infected with HIV, and people continue to die. AIDS education for young people is a crucial weapon in the HIV-prevention arsenal, young people are one of the main groups who must be targeted, and the school is the most important means of reaching them.
Still, however, schools in many countries around the world do not have adequate AIDS education curriculum. Although it is not a legislative requirement in all countries that AIDS education is provided, it remains a requirement of the global effort against AIDS. Every young person who passes through the school system anywhere in the world should come out knowing how to protect themselves from AIDS. This is not only the responsibility of every adult who is involved – it is the right of young people everywhere.From..http://www.avert.org

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We, young people need to learn about AIDS education ..Click to read more

Why is AIDS education important for young people?
The HIV epidemic has been spreading steadily for the past two decades, and now affects every country in the world. Each year, more people die and the number of people living with HIV continues to rise – in spite of the fact that we have developed many proven HIV prevention methods. We now know much more about how HIV is transmitted than we did in the early days of the epidemic, and we know much more about how we can prevent it being transmitted. One of the key means of HIV prevention is education – teaching people about HIV : what it is, what it does, and how people can protect themselves. Over half of the world’s population is now under 25 years old. This age group is more threatened by AIDS than any other; equally it is the group that has more power to fight the epidemic than any other. Education can help to fight HIV, and it must focus on young people.
There are two main reasons that AIDS education for young people is important:
* To prevent them from becoming infected.
Young people are often particularly vulnerable to sexually-transmitted HIV, and to HIV infection as a result of drug-use. Young people (15-24 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide - more than 6,000 become infected with HIV every day 1. More than a third of all people living with HIV or AIDS are under the age of 25, and almost two-thirds of them are women. In many parts of the world, young people in this age-group are at particularly high risk of HIV infection from unprotected sex, sex between men and IV drug-use because of the very high prevalence rates often found amongst people who engage in these behaviours. Young people are also often especially vulnerable to exploitation that may increase their susceptibility to infection. Even if they are not currently engaging in risk behaviours, as they become older, young people may soon be exposed to situations that put them at risk. Indeed, globally, most young people become sexually active in their teens. The fact that they are – or soon will be – at risk of HIV infection makes young people a crucial target for AIDS education.
* To reduce stigma and discrimination.
People who are infected with HIV around the world often suffer terribly from stigma, in that people who are HIV+ are somehow thought to be ‘dirty’, or to have ‘brought it on themselves’ by ‘immoral practices’. They often experience discrimination in terms of housing, medical care, and employment. These experiences, aside from being extremely distressing for HIV+ people, can also have the effect of making people reluctant to be tested for HIV, in case they are found to be HIV+. Stigma and discrimination often starts early – as name-calling amongst children. AIDS education can help to prevent this, halting stigma and discrimination before they have an opportunity to grow.
Why is AIDS education for young people an issue?
The problem seems to stem from the fact that HIV is often sexually transmitted, or is transmitted via drug use. Any subject that concerns sex between young people or drug use tends to be seen from a moralistic perspective. Many adults – particularly those of the religious right – believe that teens need to be prevented from indulging in these high-risk activities. They believe that young people shouldn’t – and don’t need to be – provided with any education about these subjects, other than to be told that they are ‘wrong’, and not to do such things. Unfortunately, however, adults have been trying to stop young people from having sex and taking drugs for many, many years with little success, so this method alone seems unlikely to offer any real relief in terms of the global AIDS epidemic.
There are other difficulties in taking an exclusively moral approach to HIV education. Firstly, this is what tends to perpetuate stigmatisation of HIV+ people. By teaching young people that indulging in ‘immoral’ sex and drugs will lead to HIV infection, educators imply that anyone who is HIV+ is therefore involved in these ‘immoral’ activities. This stigmatisation tends to make people reluctant to be tested for HIV, and therefore more inclined to remain ignorant of their status – and perhaps go on to infect others. AIDS education shouldn’t ever include a moral judgement – it is one thing to teach young people that promiscuous sex and intravenous drug use are unsafe, another thing to teach them that these things are morally wrong.
AIDS education shouldn’t ever include a moral judgement – it is one thing to teach young people that promiscuous sex and intravenous drug use are unsafe, another thing to teach them that these things are morally wrong.
Many AIDS educators around the world are disturbed at this growing trend of providing AIDS education from a moralistic perspective, and argue that AIDS education ought to be non-judgemental, making young people aware of how HIV can be transmitted and how they can avoid becoming infected - without passing moral judgement on those who engage in infection-related behaviours, whether they do so safely or not.
The opposing, more conservative viewpoint, however, argues that young people shouldn’t be taught about sexual health and drug-related dangers at all. They feel that teaching them about these things, even teaching about their dangers, may encourage young people to indulge in these risk behaviours. Research suggests that this is not the case at all, and certainly young people themselves tend to be very enthusiastic about the fact that they need sex and sexual health education. Unfortunately, curriculum planners tend not to listen to the young people who will be their students. This viewpoint can result in no AIDS education at all being offered.
“I did not go to school and learn about the civil war and decide to start a civil war, nor would I have had sex because of a class in school.”
- Mark -
However, many young people become sexually active long before adults would prefer them to do so, or expect them to do, and teens are not all ‘innocent ‘. Quite simply, if teens are having sex, they need sexual health information. Fortunately, many curriculum planners and legislators have recognised this, and provide young people in many countries with abstinence-plus or comprehensive sex & HIV education. A more detailed look at the results of such curriculum in the classroom can be found in our Teaching AIDS in schools page.
Different approaches to AIDS education for young people
Most countries in the world offer teens some sort of sexual health and HIV education in their schools at some stage. AIDS education can also be targeted at young people in non-school environments – through their peers, through the media, and through doctors or their parents. In some countries, individual schools are allowed to determine what AIDS education they will offer. In other countries, this is determined by legislation passed by central government. And in other countries – especially poor ones that are severely affected by HIV – AIDS education is imported by foreign governments, charities and NGOs, that come in to the country and deliver AIDS education as part of a larger package of HIV prevention work.
AIDS education for young people today falls generally into one of two categories: either 'abstinence-only', or 'comprehensive'. These are actually types of sex education, rather than AIDS education specifically - AIDS education in many schools comes as a part of a sex education program, if it occurs at all. The type of AIDS education program that is offered usually depends on the attitudes of those who determine the syllabus content. Right-wing organisations, some religious organisations, and the family-values lobby tend to prefer abstinence-only education, while those who feel that preventing young people from becoming infected with HIV is more important than keeping them ignorant about sexual behaviour prefer comprehensive AIDS education.
A report found that over 80% of abstinence-only curricula contained false or misleading information
Abstinence-only education teaches students that they must say no to sexual activity until they are married. This approach does not teach students anything about how to protect themselves from STDs or HIV, how pregnancy occurs or how to prevent it, and teaches about homosexuality and masturbation only as far as to say that they are wrong. Those who favour this method of education claim that teaching young people about sex will make them want to try it, thus increasing their risk of contracting HIV, amongst other things.
Abstinence-only education is popular in America, especially so now that it has a Republican President. A House of Representatives report at the end of 2004 found that over 80% of abstinence-only curricula contained false or misleading information. 2 This is not only a concern for those living in America, but increasingly for the rest of the world, as America exports its HIV-prevention and education attitudes to countries with much higher levels of HIV infection. This is particularly worrying in that abstinence-only programmes have been shown not only to fail to reduce the numbers of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies seen in pupils, but recent studies indicate that they might actually be related to an increase in these problems.
Comprehensive AIDS education teaches about sexual abstinence until marriage, and teaches that it is one way of protecting yourself from HIV transmission, STIs and unwanted pregnancy. It also teaches that there are other ways of preventing these things, such as condom use. People who favour this approach take the perspective that, while abstaining from sex until marriage is a good idea and should possibly be encouraged, there will always be some young people that do not choose to abstain – and these people must be provided with information that enables them to protect themselves. This type of education also teaches not only about the dangers of drug use, but also about methods of HIV-prevention that drug users can employ – the use of clean needles, for example.
Abstinence-only and comprehensive AIDS education have been combined to produce abstinence-plus education. This type of education focuses on sexual abstinence until marriage as the preferred method of protection, but also provides information about contraception, sexuality and disease prevention. Many abstinence-only campaigners complain that abstinence-plus and comprehensive education are the same thing, although abstinence-plus educators claim that this type of course contains more focus on sexual abstinence until marriage.
There has been debate for many years over which form of sex education is most effective in terms of preventing underage sex, unwanted pregnancy and STD and HIV transmission, although most studies seem to show that comprehensive sex and AIDS education is at least as effective as abstinence-only – and probably more so. However, currently the trend in America – and which is being exported to much of the developing world – is towards abstinence-only education. If it is as unsuccessful as studies indicate it to be, then we can expect this morality-induced type of education to become responsible for an increase in HIV figures amongst the young, especially in high-prevalence parts of the world to which America has taken its methods.
Fifteen percent of Americans believe that schools should teach only about abstinence from sexual intercourse and should not provide information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraception. Forty-six percent believe that the most appropriate approach is abstinence-plus 3. Almost half of those surveyed felt that the word ‘abstinence’ included not only sexual intercourse, but ‘passionate kissing’ and ‘masturbation’, too.
What types of AIDS education can be offered outside schools?
Not all young people are fortunate enough to attend school. This might be for one of a variety of reasons. In some countries, it is necessary to pay for schooling, and poor families may be unable to afford to send a child to school, or may be unable to send all their children to school. Sometimes children will be required to work, making them unavailable for school. In other areas, young people may live in areas where a local school is not accessible. In some situations, young people may have been excluded from school for reasons that might be due to the young person’s behaviour, academic or intellectual abilities, or due to discrimination. Some young people play truant, and will have only very limited attendance. The proportion of young people who attend school differs markedly in various parts of the world.
Clearly, although AIDS education offered through the school might reach many young people, it will not reach all, and other forms of education are required.
One of these is the media. Most young people will, at some time, be exposed to the media. This can include newspapers, television, books, radio, and also traditional media such as street performances or murals. One advantage of media-based AIDS education is that it can target specific groups amongst the population. If the message is to be targeted at young people, then it will be placed in media that are favoured by this audience.
Many countries have tried some form of AIDS education advertisements, films, or announcements. A good example of this is the LoveLife campaign in South Africa, an education program ‘by young people, for young people’. LoveLife used eye-catching posters and billboards to tell young people that sex was fun, but that it could be dangerous, too. The campaign also inserted its message into TV soaps that were popular with young people, and used rap and kwaito music to get its message across.
There are, however, problems with media-based campaigns. It is hard to know to what extent the AIDS information has reached young people, and it is difficult to gain continued funding for initiatives whose success is so hard to measure.
Another way in which young people receive information about sex and HIV is through their peers. This is something that happens anyway to a great extent – many young people receive their first information about sexuality from their friends, although this information is often distorted and inaccurate. This type of peer education can be harnessed, though, and used to convey accurate, targeted information. Peer education is, quite simply, the process by which a group is given information by one of their peers who has received training and accurate information. This is a method often used with groups which have been marginalised. Such groups might have cause to distrust information given to them by an authority figure; if the same information comes from a member of their own group, however, they may well listen. This method of information-provision is often used with such groups as sex workers, the homeless, or drug-users. There is no reason that this method shouldn’t be used with young people, however, and in many parts of the world, it is used. Indeed, it is particularly appropriate for young people who do not attend schools and will not have an opportunity to benefit from an AIDS education curriculum.
AIDS education for the future
Although the debate continues about how much – if any – AIDS education young people should receive, studies continue to show that being informed about the facts and the dangers of HIV and AIDS enables young people to protect themselves and is a crucial tool in the battle against HIV. There is no cure or vaccine for HIV, so prevention is the only way in which we can place any limits on the epidemic. One of the most economical and effective means of HIV prevention is education – involving young people themselves in the HIV prevention effort.
On a global level, America’s disposition towards the promotion of abstinence-only education is cause for concern. America’s spending on HIV prevention around the world exceeds that of any other country, and is to be welcomed – as long as it doesn’t use this money to promote its pro-abstinence-only views of AIDS education. These views – which have been shown to be less successful than comprehensive AIDS education techniques which include an abstinence element – may prove to be damaging to America’s domestic AIDS prevention work 4. When exported to high-prevalence countries in Africa, they could prove disastrous.

Whenever educators and planners ask, and listen to young people, they are told time and time again that young people overwhelmingly ask for adequate AIDS education. In most parts of the world, this means more AIDS education than they are presently getting. Young people know that they have the right to the information that enables them to safeguard their lives and those of their sexual partners – they must be listened to, and provided with that information clearly, openly and honestly.
From..http://www.avert.org/

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Alcohol builds of having desire of sex and Fun

Alcohol, drugs and sex. Sound like fun? Well, they can be, and often are. But they can also carry risks, especially when they’re mixed together.
Drink and drugs both go hand in hand with socializing. People usually do these things at parties, hanging out with friends, at bars or at clubs. Why? Because drink and drugs can make you feel more relaxed, confident, and less inhibited. When you're feeling this way in a social situation, it’s more likely that you’ll meet someone you like and want to hook up with – maybe even have sex with. The trouble is, that person may be someone that you wouldn’t have gone near if you’d been sober. Even worse, you might be so drunk or high that you forget (or simply don’t bother) to use a condom, which could lead to unwanted pregnancy, or a sexually transmitted infection (STI) being passed on.
“We had sex at New Year, which was very blurred as we were both extremely drunk... I do remember that we didn't use anything and I was not on the birth control pill.” - 17 year-old girl “I got really drunk a couple of weeks ago and ended up having unprotected sex… it is the first time I had sex and I am really worried.” - 17 year-old boy 1
Do alcohol and drugs make sex better?
feetS of young people
Young people drinking alcohol at a party
A lot of people seem to think this, but in many cases it’s not actually true. Drink and drugs might make you feel less nervous about sex – but then if you need these things to feel comfortable, you’re probably not with the right person, or you may not be ready to start having sex yet.
"My boyfriend wants me to do sex things with him but the only way I can manage is when I get drunk because otherwise I am too scared or embarrassed.” - 16 year-old girl 2
What’s more, sexual performance can actually diminish after a night out. Alcohol is an anesthetic. It numbs the genitals' nerve cells, making it more difficult to reach orgasm. Alcohol can also make it harder for boys to achieve an erection. Drugs can have a similar effect. Some people take drugs like ecstasy (E, MDMA), cocaine (coke, charlie, blow) and amphetamines (speed) to make them more sexually excited, to make them 'last longer' in bed, or because they think they will have a more pleasurable orgasm. However these drugs can actually cause erection and orgasm problems. You may hear stories about people having sex for hours while taking drugs, but that’s probably because they can't reach orgasm – it doesn't necessarily mean that they're having better sex!
What does alcohol actually do to you?
Alcohol is a depressant. This means that it temporarily slows down your central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord), which controls your bodily functions, blocking out some of the messages trying to get through to your brain. Your reactions slow down and you may feel more relaxed and less anxious. Keep on drinking and you eventually become intoxicated – i.e. drunk, wasted, hammered, sloshed. At this point people often get blurred vision, slur their speech and become uncoordinated. Sometimes people get friendly, happy and carefree when they’re drunk, at other times they may become aggressive or angry. It depends on their personality, and what situation they’re in. Their ability to react to the world slows down, and this is why people are told not to drink and drive.
Some people find it fun to get a bit drunk and lose their inhibitions once in a while. At the same time, it’s generally harder to make sensible judgments when you’ve been drinking – which is why alcohol is famous for making people say or do things that they later regret!
Because alcohol loosens you up so much, it’s not uncommon for people to run into trouble when they’re drunk, getting into fights or accidents. In the U.S. for example, around 5,000 people under 21 die every year from alcohol-related injuries.3
How about drugs?
Street children sniffing glue in Cambodia
Street children sniffing glue in Cambodia
Drugs vary greatly in strength and the effect that they can have on you. Some drugs are depressants (like alcohol), and make you drowsy and more relaxed. Marijuana (weed, pot, cannabis) falls into this class. Marijuana is one of the most common drugs used by teens and is often perceived to be relatively safe, but this isn’t necessarily the case. The strains of marijuana available today are generally much stronger than those around during the hippie era of the 60’s and 70’s, which is when the drug gained its reputation as a harmless herb. While smoking a spliff can make you feel more chilled out, it can also induce feelings of anxiety and paranoia, or simply make you feel sick. There’s also increasing evidence linking regular marijuana use to long-term mental health problems such as memory loss and depression in some people.
Other drugs are stimulants. They make you feel more awake and alert, and give you loads of energy. Ecstasy, speed and cocaine are examples of stimulants. These drugs increase your heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure. They can make you feel confident and euphoric. In high doses though, they can make you feel confused or dazed, overheat, have a heart attack or even suffer brain damage.
LSD (acid, trips) and magic mushrooms are examples of another class of drug called hallucinogens. They change your perceptions of reality, and can make you see, hear or feel things that aren’t really happening. These hallucinations might be funny or enjoyable, but they can also be very scary and upsetting. You hear all sorts of stories about people having ‘bad trips’, where they’ve freaked out after taking hallucinogens, and in some cases these bad trips can have long-lasting effects.
Heroin is one of the strongest and most dangerous drugs available. It’s highly addictive and easy to overdose on, which often leads to death. Since heroin is often injected into the body, users risk becoming infected with blood-borne diseases such as HIV if they share needles with other people.
Everyone I know is drinking, taking drugs or having sex…

It might feel as though this is true, but it probably isn’t. Most teens don’t drink, and even a lot of adults choose not to. It’s even less common for people to do most other recreational drugs. As for sex, although a lot of teens brag about losing their virginity young, they’re not always telling the truth: the average global age for first having sex is around 19, and in some countries it’s as high as 23.4 The point is that if you don’t want to drink, take drugs or have sex, then you’re certainly not alone.
“If you only want to try drink, drugs or sex because of peer pressure, then this is totally the wrong reason”
A lot of teens feel pressured into trying alcohol, drugs and sex by their friends, schoolmates and other people of the same age group – their peers. When this happens, it’s called peer pressure. Peer pressure is the pressure that you feel to be like everyone else and fit in. It can be about all kinds of things, from fashion to dating and beyond. It’s not always a bad thing, and it plays a big role in helping to shape our identities, how we talk, act and dress. But peer pressure can also cause people to do things that go against their will or beliefs – and with drink, drugs and sex, this is often what happens.
You might find yourself at a party where everyone’s drinking or taking drugs, and feel like people will think you’re a loser if you don’t join in. Or you might feel like you’re not cool because you’re still a virgin, and so have sex with someone simply because you don't want to feel like you’re the only person who hasn’t.
“I remember a party with my sister. I was very scared, thinking: I have to drink. These people are so much older. I have to impress them.” - Megan 5
“When I was in year 9, my friends pressured me into smoking marijuana or "pot". I really didn't want to but I thought life is short, and I gave into peer pressure. The first time, I suddenly spaced out and got high. I didn't know what to do, I wanted to beat people up. I hated it, but I kept on trying it whenever we were at parties.” - Simone 6
“At 16 I was not ready to lose my virginity, I didn't have a steady boyfriend, I had little confidence in myself and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All my friends were having sex. They acted as if losing your virginity was no big deal. It is! Trust me! I now know that I lost my virginity to the WRONG guy! He was a sleaze and I was just another girl to him.” - Fi 7
At the end of the day, you can be in control. You may have your own reasons for wanting to try drink, drugs or sex, but if you’re only doing these things because of peer pressure, then this is totally the wrong reason. It’s not always easy to say ‘no’, but if the people you’re with are really your friends, they’ll respect your decisions. Stand your ground and do what feels right for you, not anyone else.

“You don't need to drink just because somebody's telling you to drink. You have your own ways. That's what you got to tell them: My way is to stay the way I am, and I don't want to drink. If they can't respect that, then you need to leave them.” - Ilton 8
“One morning, I had a wake up call and decided to not hang around these friends. I knew after this whole experience with pot, I would not give in to peer pressure again. My experience helped me realize what not to do.” - Simone 9
I’m only having a few drinks. That’s fine, right?
It might be, but you should still be careful. Alcohol tolerance varies greatly between different people, and for some, a few drinks is all it takes to get drunk.
Even if you’re only planning on having a small amount of alcohol, or sticking to soft drinks, you still need to keep your wits about you. It’s possible that someone could spike your drink with 'date rape' drugs like Rohypnol or GHB, which take as little as 15 minutes to kick in and can wipe out your memory of what happens in the next eight hours, leaving you open to sexual assault and rape. The most common drug used to spike people’s drinks is actually alcohol. Extra alcohol can be added to people’s drinks without them knowing, or attackers may simply buy someone more and more drinks until they get drunk beyond the point where they know what they’re doing. They might put vodka into someone’s drink for instance, or buy them double measures of spirits when they’ve only asked for singles.
The intention of drink spiking isn’t always sexual assault. Sometimes it might be done as a joke, out of anger or spite, or to rob you. It happens to both boys and girls and is alarmingly common in some countries.young people drinking around a table
Young people drinking alcohol at a party

This doesn’t mean that you can’t go out and enjoy yourself; if you take a few simple precautions, you should be OK. Make sure you never leave your drink unattended. If you do have to leave it for a while, give it to a friend that you know and trust. Don’t swap or share drinks and think twice about accepting a drink from someone you don’t know well. If you suddenly start to feel unusually drunk or unwell without knowing why, it’s possible that your drink has been spiked; ask a trustworthy friend to help you and take you home. In the same way, if one of your friends starts acting strangely then keep an eye on them.
Another thing to remember is people who are looking to take advantage of you don’t always have to spike your drink – they may simply wait till you get drunk or high of your own accord. If you are going to drink, the key is not getting so out of your head that you don’t know what you’re doing! If you do think you’re going to get wasted, always make sure that you’re surrounded by trustworthy friends who will look out for you.
I’m going to do drugs, but only once…

It’s human nature to want to experiment once in a while, and in many cases this can be harmless. But it’s worth bearing in mind that there are lots of people out there who say “only once” and end up doing drugs regularly or even getting addicted. No one starts taking drugs with the intention of becoming an addict or using them regularly. It’s always a case of “I’ll just try them” or “I’m just an occasional user”. But often people enjoy the experience so much that they stop thinking about the risks and start using regularly. Before they know it, the drugs have caused changes to the structure and function of their brains, and they feel the urge to keep taking those drugs.
"It hit me like a tidal wave. It was incredible... it was no wonder I wanted to feel that way again soon. Before long I started popping ecstasy every other saturday night... soon I was using every Thursday, Friday and Saturday... All this partying took its toll on me. My body ached from the hours of dancing. My eyes were bloodshot with big, dark circles around them. I was always sick and depressed. I began to hate everything... Now it seemed that even ecstasy couldn't numb the pain. So I began to move on to other drugs.” - 10
Another thing to remember is that you only have to take some drugs once for them to have a serious effect, or even kill you. There are many cases where people have died after doing drugs like ecstasy, solvents (inhalants) or heroin for the first time.
We’ll fool around, but won’t go all the way with sex…
It can be fine if you and your boyfriend/girlfriend want to experiment with touching one another, or try pleasuring each other without having full on sex. Just remember that oral sex can lead to STIs being passed on if you don’t use a condom, as can anal sex.
Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking that if a couple start having unprotected sex, but stop before the boy ejaculates (comes), then this will prevent pregnancy. This isn’t necessarily true. Before and while he has sex, a boy’s penis releases a lubricating liquid called pre-come, and this substance can contain sperm. Even if a small amount of this substance gets inside the vagina, it can be enough to make a girl pregnant.
If you use a condom when necessary then, in most cases, you should be fine.
The final word
We’re not going to tell you that you shouldn’t drink, take drugs, or have sex, and equally we’re not going to encourage you to do these things – it’s ultimately up to you to assess the risks and make decisions in the context of your own life. What we will say that is that if you are going to drink, take drugs or have sex, be aware of the problems they can cause and take measures to minimize the risks to yourself and those around you.

* If you’re going to drink, do it responsibly and make sure you’re around people you can trust.
* If you’re going to do drugs, the same applies, and you should also make sure that you know the score about what you’re taking – read more about drugs on information sites like Frank.
* With sex, make sure that you use a condom to prevent STIs and pregnancy, or if you’re with a regular partner who you’re certain doesn’t have an STI, other birth control methods that can prevent pregnancy.
* Keep in mind the law. Almost all recreational drugs are illegal, and they usually carry heavy penalties. The legal drinking age varies between countries but is generally at least 18, and 21 in some countries, such as the U.S. Laws about sex also differ between countries, so make sure that you know the age of consent.
* Combining drink and drugs with driving is illegal in almost every country and is always a bad idea.
* Don’t let peer pressure dictate your decisions. Work out what’s best for you as an individual, and stand up for yourself. If you don’t want to drink, take drugs or have sex, then that’s perfectly fine, and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you differently.

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