Less young people with HIV due to sexuality education

The HIV cases amongst the young population in Estonia has decreased massively over the past 15 years. Experts believe that it is because of the young people getting more knowledge through sexuality education in school.

The first school-bases sexuality education in Estonia began in 1963 © Inge van Breda

In 2001 there were 560 cases of HIV-infection amongst 15-19-year olds. 15 years later, there were only three new cases. According to research by the Estonian National Institute for Health Development, a big cause of this decrease has been sexuality education and young people gaining and having good knowledge about sex and the risks that come with it. More young people get tested too; compared to 2010, the number of tests has almost doubled in that age group.

Dr Kai Haldre from the Sexual Health Clinic of the Estonian Sexual Health Association agrees that the connection between the decrease in HIV cases amongst young people and sexuality education is very strong. She points to the fact that it is the whole sexual behaviour and attitude that have changed amongst young people. “A lot of research data shows that young people know how to protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, avoid unwanted pregnancies. They are empowered to take decisions in their sexual relationships, and they know where to find professional advice”, she says.

In 2014 she made a survey amongst women about health. This included the women’s view on sexuality education. One of the results from the survey was that more than half of the women of age 16-24 think they talk enough about sexual topics in school.

Let’s talk about sex

Sexuality education is one of the main topics in human studies, which mainly focuses on self-esteem and close relationships. Dr Kai Haldre emphasises the mandatory sexuality education in school because it is a way to make sure that all students in Estonia get information of good quality. “Supportive and caring atmosphere at home is extremely important in human sexual development, however, parents are not in the position to give the knowledge which is given at school. There will always be topics which are too intimate and sensitive to discuss with parents”, says Dr Kai Haldre.

Student counsellor and human studies teacher at Hiiumaa Gymnasium Margit Kagadze, also thinks that it is important to have sexual education in schools. “In Europe we have researches that show that sexuality education and counselling are very important. School is the place where young people can listen to and discuss about sex-related topics”, she says.

Talking about HIV can be difficult

Teachers have a certain amount of freedom when it comes to sexuality education. They can choose the topics they will talk about, but sometimes that means that they do not touch upon more sensitive topics like HIV.

According to Tiina Drell, adviser in the public health department of the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs, the freedom of choosing what topics to talk about can bring some difficulties. “A teacher on a small island of Estonia may not have to focus so much on HIV compared to a teacher in north-eastern Estonia, where a lot of people have HIV. And this subject should be dealt with extensively.”

She further explains that there are some teachers who may not speak about HIV because there is a stigma, and it might be uncomfortable for teachers to speak about these topics.

Even teachers agree that the stigma around HIV makes it more difficult to talk about the virus and the risks, says Margit Kagadze. There are still some assumptions to be tackled. “Common thinking in young people is that “HIV is something that would never happen to me”, and they still need to learn that it can happen to everyone, even among their friends and themselves”, she says.