A Strategy of curbing sexual immorality and developing responsible sex education among adolescents in four school settings in Yaounde

Abstract

Nowadays premarital sexual activities are common among youths. Remaining chaste or virgin up to the time of marriage is a big challenge to many adolescents. This phenomenon has become the source of worry for the parents and for the leadership of the school settings in Yaounde. Four schools were selected for this research in Yaounde. After meeting students, teachers, school administrators and other experts of the sexual issue to buttress information needed to the subject, the researcher puts together a step by step approach towards sexual immorality. It involves school setting mobilization, lectures, interviews, surveys and concrete contacts with students in each school setting. In the four selected school settings, five hundred and ten participants attended the whole program. 239 of them, giving a percentage of 47 decided to abandon their evil way of life; 275 decided to abstain from premarital sex (54%); 128 requested for help (25%); 380 understood that premarital sex is a sin before God and unacceptable (75%); 310 have had clear definition of sexuality (61%); 412 have had clear idea of HIV/AIDS; and 258 retained that abstinence is the best means to fighting against HIV/AIDS. The program reveals that if young people are properly informed or access accurate and reliable information about sexuality through seminars in the school settings, it would help them to enhance their sexual knowledge, attitude and behavior so that to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unwanted pregnancies, dropouts, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. The research concludes that God does not condemn sex, but its perversion. He gave to all the teachers’ responsibility to involve in teaching not only as a profession but as a vocation, a calling to guide the youth in principles of morality. Because of that, curbing premarital sexual activities that are plaguing school settings in Cameroon demands initiative, consecration, patience, training, follow up at the level of ministry of education, school officials, church leaders, teachers, and parents.