Friday, 20 January 2012
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Just say no to Nadine Dorries' abstinence education bill!
After a long battle fought by feminists spanning a number of decades, I came a across an article which seems to laugh in the face of women who strived for equal rights. Whilst browsing the British Humanist Association website, I found an article relating to a bill, proposed by Nadine Dorries, (which seeks to secure abstinence from sex in young girls) and is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons after the first reading was passed in Spring 2011.
Firstly, this kind of bill, forcing young girls into abstinence from sex until they are married would push promiscuity through the roof during a period when teenage pregnancy is at an all time high (currently the UK has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and abortion in Europe). Secondly, I believe we would see a rise in the number of rapes reported by young girls. Thirdly I believe the real problem lies in the sex education system or rather the lack of good sex education. Abstinence isn't the answer to the problems of teen sex, pregnancy, abortion, promiscuity and STI's. There is also the important issue of free-choice. Is it not better to arm our young women with the facts, the importance of contraception and the dangers of peer pressure. Shouldn't we be trusting them to make the right decision for themselves, after giving them the facts and ensuring a sex education system that WORKS? Shouldn't we be following the liberal attitude towards sex set by the Netherlands? (they currently have the lowest rates of teen pregnancy and STI's in Western Europe). I cant see how teaching abstinence to just girls would work, surely half of the responsibility lies with the male counterpart. Doesn't this new bill teach boys and young men that they can have sex without thought or consequence?
If this bill is passed, then when the time comes and my daughter is old enough to learn about such issues, she will be withdrawn from abstinence lessons. I would much rather teach my daughter myself about respecting her body, her right to say no if she so chooses or if she does choose to have sex, to make sure she is safe and knows the emotional implications involved with such a decision. My daughter will always know that I am here to talk to and she will always have my support. Sex is a natural part of life, enjoyed between two consenting persons. It shouldn't be made into something to feel guilty about and no-one should feel they have to keep their sex life secret from society until they are married. In a time when the Old Testament of the Bible is on the rise, granting this bill would be the equivalent to taking ten steps back in time in terms of equal rights for women.
Please write to your MP's to show you are against this bill...http://www.humanism.org.uk/news/view/962
Firstly, this kind of bill, forcing young girls into abstinence from sex until they are married would push promiscuity through the roof during a period when teenage pregnancy is at an all time high (currently the UK has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and abortion in Europe). Secondly, I believe we would see a rise in the number of rapes reported by young girls. Thirdly I believe the real problem lies in the sex education system or rather the lack of good sex education. Abstinence isn't the answer to the problems of teen sex, pregnancy, abortion, promiscuity and STI's. There is also the important issue of free-choice. Is it not better to arm our young women with the facts, the importance of contraception and the dangers of peer pressure. Shouldn't we be trusting them to make the right decision for themselves, after giving them the facts and ensuring a sex education system that WORKS? Shouldn't we be following the liberal attitude towards sex set by the Netherlands? (they currently have the lowest rates of teen pregnancy and STI's in Western Europe). I cant see how teaching abstinence to just girls would work, surely half of the responsibility lies with the male counterpart. Doesn't this new bill teach boys and young men that they can have sex without thought or consequence?
If this bill is passed, then when the time comes and my daughter is old enough to learn about such issues, she will be withdrawn from abstinence lessons. I would much rather teach my daughter myself about respecting her body, her right to say no if she so chooses or if she does choose to have sex, to make sure she is safe and knows the emotional implications involved with such a decision. My daughter will always know that I am here to talk to and she will always have my support. Sex is a natural part of life, enjoyed between two consenting persons. It shouldn't be made into something to feel guilty about and no-one should feel they have to keep their sex life secret from society until they are married. In a time when the Old Testament of the Bible is on the rise, granting this bill would be the equivalent to taking ten steps back in time in terms of equal rights for women.
Please write to your MP's to show you are against this bill...http://www.humanism.org.uk/news/view/962
The world as I see it and the hope of something better...
We live in a world filled with natural beauty. Instead of showing appreciation for our earth and enjoying its irreplaceable bounty, instead of sharing it, we divide it up and the all mighty and powerful claim large pieces of land for themselves. We fight wars over it, and destroy the earth and each-other in the process. We are all born equal yet we all have rulers, lording their power over us and making decisions (usually the wrong ones) on our behalf. We live with restrictions and the constant threat of punishment if we step out of line, both in reality and spiritually. We are restricted and denied freedom of thought by religion. Science changed my life. It taught me to question the very fabric of life, it showed me another way, free from restrictions, free to think and surmise how the universe began without feeling guilty that God would be disappointed. I found Atheism. Atheism is the manifestation of the feeling of freedom. I now live my life by the simple rules of reason, truth and evidence and find this far more satisfying both personally and morally and certainly more intellectually stimulating than an unfounded belief in a creator for whom there is no solid evidence and the probability is stacked heavily against.
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