chapter 6. other concepts relating to sex - Windward Community ...

In general, the police enforce the laws that create immediate public danger. They are very
concerned with traffic accidents and violent crimes. Personal issues such as abortion and
prostitution don't concern them unless they get direct orders to intervene. During this research
(1994), orders came from the Prime Minister's office to eliminate direct brothels, that is, those
that sell nothing but sex. So, in a short period of time police saw to it that the brothels of Fàng
Thong began offering drinks and snacks, too. They were no longer direct brothels. A change in
appearance re-categorized the establishments
Sex Education in the Schools
Talking about sexuality is not so much taboo as it is simply inappropriate in most social
situations. This carries into the home. Isan parents generally do not teach their children about sex;
few students indicated ever learned about sex from their mothers or fathers. Much of what SWU
students know about reproduction and sexual intercourse was learned in high school classes and
from friends. Under the national curriculum, sex education is scattered in science and health
classes. 17 There is no single program of study. Girls learn about menstruation in health/hygiene
class (boys are often dismissed from this lesson), reproduction is taught in biology, and morality
is covered in religion classes. Now students also learn about AIDS, though it was not part of the
school curriculum of the students in this study. Both public and private schools follow the
national curriculum, which is created and administered from Bangkok.
Educators teach information appropriate for the age of the student. In prathöm 1-3
(approximately grades 1-3), children learn general things about the body and hygiene. Prathöm 4-
6 classes include information about menstruation (sometimes the girls are separated from the
boys for this lesson), body changes, health, and taking care of oneself. Mátthayom 1-3, the rough
equivalent of middle school, includes health lessons on making friends, mental health, AIDS,
17
This curriculum was in place from the early 1980s until 2000. In 2000, the national curriculum was
revised and the sex education component expanded largely in response to the ongoing AIDS problem. One
textbook generated a great deal of controversy as it was considered by many to be to explicit, even
pornographic, for Thailand.
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