Maritime Morning - Andrew Krystal

This fall, Newfoundland and Labrador will begin vaccinating all girls in Grade 6 to protect against a virus that causes cervical cancer. HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) infects half of all sexually active women in North America - the more partners, the greater the infection rate. The more partners, the more likely you are to go through the trials of cancer, abortions, and STDs.

Should we not teach sexual restraint instead? Tell girls, early, about male sexual pressure and give them support? Give young girls a chance to say no; to maintain their sexual integrity, and to not be used by forgettable, regrettable, males?

There should also be a class for boys. If they don’t know respect, they should know date rape laws.

But why should young girls have the bar lowered in terms of behavior? Should we not, instead, have the bar raised and expect them to make the right choices? Right now, around many jurisdictions anyway, we are giving young girls the opposite message - that they will be promiscuous; that they will make the wrong choices and that they will get disease.

Should there not, as well, be a cost or a consequence to promiscuity? Should they be shown abortion videos too? Why not?

Human beings are motivated by the path of least resistance and to a feel-good “party” mentality - especially in this culture. People do not drink and drive and smoke today as much because of awareness of consequence. It is the downside that deters, that creates restraint from impulse actions and bad choices.

The fact is that there is no “get out of jail free card” when it comes to promiscuity. According to the female sex researchers with whom I have spoken, women are not like men; every time a girl has sex with someone who doesn’t care or who is using her, a little bit of her soul dies.

Men, young men especially, must learn consequences too.

Unfortunately, women and young girls have a bigger cross to bear and are the ones who suffer most.