The Guyana National Youth Council (GNYC) has called on the ministries of Education and Health to embrace the teaching of comprehensive sexual and health and family life education in schools, noting that this is often overlooked and left out of the curriculum in many local schools.
Adding its voice to the wave of condemnation of the Guyana Chronicle over publication of images of teenagers engaged in a sexual act, the GNYC said it was disappointed since this was in contravention of the principles enshrined in the Protection of Children Act. However, it said, rather than condemn the young people, it was important to take cognisance of the fact that their actions reflected the realities of a hyper-sexualised society.
The Protection of Children Act (2009) states that the most important consideration in relation to children is their best interests. “This means that parents, guardians, teachers, other adults, the government, the court and any other body or entity have to make sure that [their] best interests are considered when they make any decision,”