Why 27% of Scottish Students Think No Means Yes
A recent study of 1,000 students published by the Scottish Government reveals that 27% of Scottish teens believe that when a girl says no she doesn’t really mean it. The finding highlights that the problem with sex education curricula isn’t restricted to simply the US.
One of the criticisms launched against the Scottish Government is its framing of sex education that centers on pregnancy and the spread of STDs and fails to teach healthy and informed sexual behavior, primarily the concept of consent. The Scotsman’s Saturday Op-Ed flags a “sea change” in Scottish society regarding the criminal justice system’s ability to address cases of rape and sexual assault. Among the many problems highlighted in this is teens’ understanding of sexual consent: “it is hard to envisage any analysis that would provide any reassurance: either a proportion of boys far higher than one-in-four is thinking along these lines, or some Scottish girls have so little self-esteem and self-confidence that they too buy into the pernicious belief that ‘no does not always mean no’.” Again, there is a fundamental similarity to US sex education pedagogical approaches, which is also complicated by conservative dogma that has lead to incorporating abstinence-only messaging and creationism into sex education courses at the secondary education level.
Additionally, the survey found that a third of teenagers are unaware about the dangers of sharing needles and almost 20 per cent do not realize that using a condom can help them avoid STDs: