Leap of Faith: Going Full-time for Safe and Satisfying Sex

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. I have finally pursued my calling. I have shed my teacher-y facade and gone into a world where vaginas, condoms, and penises dominate. I am now a full time sex worker... and I work with kids! Yum.

Don't worry, I haven't gone into pedophile prostitution, but I have to admit the situation now is quite orgasmic. Last week, I submitted my application to the Foundation for Adolescent Development. I applied for the position of Program Manager (yes, makapal ang mukha ko) hoping against hope that I'll be called in for an interview despite the overwhelming number of people who I believe are more qualified for the job. Imagine my utter bewilderment when I was called in for an interview a few days letter. Imagine, again, how stupefied I was upon learning that I got the position.

So here I am, finally, after months of saying it but never quite meaning it: I am officially a full time advocate of sexual and reproductive health and right. What's more, I work for and with the young ones - adolescents to be exact -, which is an absolute privilege. I am also quite lucky to be working with one of the most prominent names in reproductive and sexual health and rights advocacy, my boss Alvin Dakis, and my oh-so-awesome partner Erick Bernardo. My baptism of fire started on the last week of May and my first official brush with the wonderful world of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights came last Tuesday. 

I represented the Foundation for Adolescent Development in a forum called Defining the Best Interest of the Child and the RH Law which was held at the Quezon City Hall last Tuesday. It was organized by the NAPC Youth and Children Sectoral Council, WomanHealth Philippines, Save the Children, Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights and the Office of Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte. I was privileged enough to be able to sit down with some  the members of the Active Youth Participation (AYP) members and talked about the Reproductive Health Law. Several interesting points came up. 

One of the issue that discussed heatedly was the limitations of reproductive and sexual health services offered by the government to minors. The RH Law specifies that minors cannot receive RH services from  health centers, unless they are given explicit consent by their parents and guardian. The kids thought this would hinder rather than better the access of the young people to better reproductive health. They can always go to a clinic, but really, which kid has that much money these days?

The kids believe that the written consent requirement is difficult to achieve because a significant percentage of parents do not want their children to know or to talk about sex even if it is with a professional health worker. Understandable. After all, if you're 15 and you come up to a parent and say, "Hey mom/dad, can you like write me a consent letter? Coz I really wanna know how a condom works", you'd probably get a slap on the face plus at least three hours of lecture on the immorality of sex for your troubles. 

It's sad that a majority of the Filipino people still don't want to admit that if kids can't get straight answers from their parents (and proper authorities) then the next big step is looking through the Internet and pornography, which are great for techniques and positions, but not quality instructional material for safe sex. And their boyfriends and girlfriends aren't exactly resource speakers on the matter.

I don't know much about private high schools (as I'm a legit government-educated kid during my HS days), but in public highs you'd be lucky if your teacher in Health is not very squeamish, hypocritical, and the overly-conservative. You might actually get some decent sex ed, even if it's just a minuscule part of the class. One of the girls I got to speak with, Ma-Rose, related a story of one such lesson. Her Health teacher had allowed them to speak and ask about sex, and despite laughing about the topic, she said the class actually learned about it. When their adviser found out about the oh-so-energetic lesson, the class got a metaphorical whip on the butt for being more active when it comes to sex ed than Math class. 

Algebra is important, I know, but I'm pretty sure that learning to prevent unwanted pregnancy, keeping oneself safe from HIV/AIDS and other STIs, and simply learning about the changes our bodies undergo during puberty and no less important. The teacher got pissed because the students liked and enjoyed talking about sex. This is as hypocritical as Sotto saying that the Filipino culture is conservative when half-naked women gyrate to novelty songs in that overly-reincarnated noontime show that really needs to die already. But I digress. The point: many parents don't want their kids to learn about sex, even from legit sources like teachers and health care professionals, probably because of some irrational ideology that is akin to Sotto's myopic perceptions of the Filipino culture. 

This is why upon asking for suggestions, the group recommended that parents also be educated in the realities of reproductive and sexual health and rights. 

And that is, of course, another issue - education. The earlier sharing of one of the AYP members brings to light how sex ed was touched in Health class before the mandate on sex ed. Ma-Rose said that sometimes, they would be tested on things that were not even discussed inside the classroom. She felt that the teachers failed to give ample information on the topic. Thank goodness for the RH Law - at least sex ed won't just be about the novelty of saying puke and titi. Also, the young people added that although it is fun to laugh at sex talk, it is also not that helpful because of too much joking around. Content AND delivery matters.

Which brings us back to HOW the Filipino people talk about sex. I can rant about this all day that I'd start to sound like another Philippine Health Bloggers Society member Raimskie. We have lived for so long in a society that either cringes upon hearing about what's between a human person's legs and as a result we shut up about everything related to it. Which is utterly codswallop given that we sexualize almost everything - from kids' toys like Bratz to TV ads for liquor and roof leak seals. 

The young ones have spoken: They WANT to know what's going on with their body. They BELIEVE the importance of knowing about sexual health and rights. They NEED comprehensive adolescent reproductive and sexual health services.

Now what? 

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On a side note, I'd like to invite everyone to be a member of the Foundation for Adolescent Development's Junior Board program. Train under the best board of trustees of FAD, get the latest know-how on adolescent reproductive and sexual health, have opportunities for scholarships to conferences here and abroad, and advocate for your peers.

The Foundation for Adolescent Development (FAD) is a not-for-profit, non-government organization established in 1988 catering to a very specific clientele: Filipino adolescents and young adults aged 13-24 years old who may be in school, in the community, in the workplace, including difficult situations such as the street.

Be the present of today's reproductive and sexual health and rights advocacy! Join the Foundation for Adolescent Development's Junior Board. See details below. Good luck, leaders and advocates!