The Oyo State House of Assembly has called for the inclusion of compulsory sex education in the school curriculum.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, the Assembly made this call in adopting the resolutions of a motion by Honourable Wumi Oladeji of Ogbomoso North constituency tendered at plenary.
The motion noted that the lack of sex education from childhood was a contributory factor to why females continued to fall victim of rape, assault, sexual molestation.
She noted that the largely conservative nature of the society, as well as her sociocultural and religious dispositions to discussing sexual-related issues, also contributed to incidences of sexual violence.
Oladeji decried that children, out of curiosity, are usually pushed to experimentation owing to the fact that issues of sex are shrouded in secrecy or have some myths or taboos attached to them.
Due to the lack of accurate sex education, she noted that some unscrupulous adults seize the opportunity to teach the children what their parents refused to teach them and usually sexually molest them.
The motion particularly asked that sex education be included in the school curriculum and make provision for qualified personnel to handle the subject.
Furthermore, the Assembly also noted the need for parents and guardians to change their orientation and traditional perception about children sex education.
In his remarks, Honourable Ayo Fatokun, representing Akinyele constituency 1, asked parents to pay attention to their wards so that they are not wrongly educated.
Fatokun also urged the media houses to help develop content that educates children on sex-related issues.
In his reaction, the Minority Leader, Honourable Asimiyu Alarape called for the implementation of laws against sexual violence, sexual abuse, and harassment.
Alarape urged mothers to give their female wards or children accurate and unambiguous information about sex.
