The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases registered at the Center forDisease Control and Preventionsoared to 750,000 in2003 from5,800 in 1985.Taking HIV/AIDS as anexample, China now has575,000 carriers (people whoare HIV positive, but have not developed full blownAIDS),and patients (those with thefully developed disease),more than 90 percent ofwhom were infected via sexualcontact.Unwanted pregnanciesand abortions are alsothreatening the youngergeneration.

          2003年，疾控中心统计的性传播疾病新发案例共计75万例，而这一数字在1985年仅为5800。就拿艾滋病来说，中国目前有57.5万艾滋病病毒携带者（即携带艾滋病毒，但还没有发病）和已经发病的病人。近两三年，新增的艾滋病感染者90%以上是通过性途径传播的。早孕和堕胎同样威胁年轻人的健康。

In 2014, the SichuanSex Education Societylaunched a six provincesurveyof more than 5,000 studentsages 12 to 24. Itshowed that 24 percent ofrespondents had engaged inpremarital sex, and 20 percenthad abortions.While the government isstill trying to formulate anationally recognized sexeducation curriculum, somenonprofit organizations havetaken the initiative andlaunched pilot projects.The Youth Love Station,supported by the AIDS Prevention Education Project for Chinese Youth, is one ofthem.By providing comprehensivesex education, theproject not only teaches studentsabout gender differencesand safe sex, it also aimsto convey the basic values of“love with respect” to youngpeople.

        2014年，四川性教育学会对全国六个省份的5000名12到24岁的学生做了一个调查。调查显示24%的被调查者有过婚前性行为，20%有过流产经历。目前政府正在试图制定一套全国通用的性教育课程，但迄今还没有定论。一些非盈利机构率先启动了试点项目，中国青少年艾滋病防治教育工程支持建立的“青爱小屋”就是其中一例。通过提供全面的性教育，青爱工程不光教授学生男女性别差异、安全性行为等知识，他们还致力于向年轻人传达“要爱、要尊重”的基本价值观。

Growing confidence

越来越有信心

“Using a condom is one ofthe most effective forms ofcontraception.”“If my girlfriend told meshe was pregnant, I wouldcalm her down first and tellher to avoid overexertion andmanual labor. Still, we wouldneed to tell both sets of parents.”

          “使用安全套是最有效的避孕方式之一。”“如果我女友告诉我她怀孕了，我会让她镇定，尽量减少过度运动或是体力劳动。当然，我还需要通知双方的父母。”

“Girls should keep warmduring their menstrual periods.Sometimes, before andduring their periods, they aremuch easier to anger.”The statements above areanswers to the question,“What do you know aboutgirls and safe sex?” posed bya teacher at Yingjiang No 3High School in Yunnanprovince. The answers,shared by three 13 yearoldmale students, indicate thatyoung people are becomingmore knowledgeable andconfident about sexualactivity.

           “女生在生理期应该尽量保暖。有时候，在生理期之前和中间，她们会变得易怒。”在盈江第三初级中学，老师提出了一个问题：“你对女生、对安全性行为有多少了解？”有三位13岁男同学给出了上述答案。这说明青少年对性行为的了解已经越来越多。他们的自信心在加强。

Although there is no officialsex education at the school,its Youth Love Station is oneof 61 that have been operatedby the nonprofit organizationin Yingjiang county since2012.

“Before we launched theproject, many girls whosebreasts were developing walked with their headsdown because of ‘shame’.Some evenwore several itemsof clothing in summer to hidetheir breasts,” said Nie Yongxian,the school’s sex educationteacher. “That sort of thing is nolonger seen, and sometimes,students even come to myoffice and discuss love and sexwith me. There are also fewercases of ‘puppy love’ now,”Niesaid.

           尽管学校还没有教育部门统一实行的性教育课程，但当地教育局率先对青爱小屋项目开始了大力支持。盈江第三初级中学的青爱小屋是青爱工程自2012年开始在盈江建起的61所小屋之一。

          “在我们这个项目启动之前，许多处于乳房发育期的女生因为‘羞耻感’作祟，走起路来都低头含胸。夏天也穿得里三层外三层以遮挡胸部。”这所学校的性教育老师聂永仙说。“这类事情，当然现在已经没有了。有时候学生甚至到办公室来跟我讨论爱、讨论性。现在早恋的情况也比过去少了”。

Promotion via parents

通过父母做推广

In addition to deliveringlectures about age appropriatesex and gender knowledgeto students at primaryschools and colleges, theAIDS prevention project alsopromotes sex educationamong parents.

          除了在小学、中学、大学提供与学生年龄段相适应的性教育和性别知识，青爱工程还通过家长课堂把孩子的父母纳入到性教育的课堂中来。

Jiang Jun participated inhis first sex education class atthe Dujiangyan Dingxin NewPrimary School in Sichuanprovince along with 60 otherparents.The father of sons ages 9and 2 used his smartphone totake photos of every slide theteacher showed the class.

           蒋军与其他60位家长一道，生平头一次参加了四川省都江堰市顶新新建小学的性教育课。他的两个孩子分别是9岁和2岁。课堂上他用手机把老师放的PPT课件一页一页拍了个遍。

“My 9 year oldson startedto ask me questions aboutsexual behavior when hesaw animals having sex on aTV documentary. I didn’tknow how to respond,” hesaid.

“Many parents of my generationwho didn’t receive thiseducation have the sameproblem. We hope suchknowledge can be taught inschools,” Jiang said.

“Of course, parents shouldbe educated too, so they canbetter understand their children’sconcerns.”

          “我9岁的儿子在电视上的纪录片中看到动物交配的场面，于是来问我有关性行为的问题。我不知道应该如何回答他。我们这一代人里那些没有接受过性教育的人，当了父母之后，遇到相同的问题。我们希望学校能提供这些知识”。蒋军说：“当然父母也应该受教育，以使他们更好地理解孩子们所关心的问题。”

Optional choice

成为选修课

Sex education is not arequired course in China’snine yearcompulsory educationsystem. In the country’s“normal” universities—thosethat teach a range of unrelatedsubjects and are alsoresponsible for teacher training— there are no majors insex education.

          性教育在中国的九年义务教育系统中不属于必修课，在中国的师范类大学（除了培养师资力量外也教授一些不相关的课程）中也没有性教育这一专业。

In 1994, Capital NormalUniversity in Beijing becamethe country’s first college tooffer sex education as a minorfor undergraduates.The minor consisted of 12courses and took two and ahalf years to complete,according to Zhang Meimei,the professor in charge.

          张玫玫教授介绍，1994年，首都师范大学成为了全国第一所将性教育作为本科生辅修专业的学校。辅修包括12门课，需要2年半的时间完成。

“Participants were mostlydriven by their own interest,”she said. “The course isnot listed in the educationsystem, so there are no relatedpositions in the job market.”

“选修这门课都是基于他们自己的兴趣，”她说，“这门课没有列在教育系统中，因此职场上也没有相关的职业。”

Sex education is now anoptional course at the college,and the duration hasbeen shortened to onesemester.Zhang said the courseoffers basic comprehensivesex education, but those seekingdeeper knowledge needto consult with professionalteachers who specialize in thefield.

性教育现在首师大成为了选修课，课程长度也缩短到了一学期。张玫玫教授表示这个课程仅仅是提供基础的综合性教育知识，那些想要更深入学习相关知识的学生还需要去咨询这个领域的专业老师。

According to Zhang Jianxin,a professor at the WestChina School of PublicHealth in Sichuan, stereotypingis a major obstacle to thepromotion of sex educationin China.

“Many people still definesex education as ‘introducingknowledge about sexualactivity’, but it covers far morethan that,” he said.

按照四川华西公共卫生院的张建新教授的观点，刻板、僵化、老套的观点和陋习是在中国推广性教育的一个主要障碍。

“还有很多人认为性教育就是‘介绍有关性行为的知识’，然而性教育所包含的远远不止这一方面，”他说道。

From physical differences,self-protection and safe sex, totolerance and respect basedon gender differences, Zhangsaid sex education addressesthe root issues that help teensmake responsible decisionsthat will keep them safe andhealthy.

           张建新教授表示，从男女生理的差异、自我保护意识以及安全性行为，到包容和尊重性别差异，性教育旨在引导青少年做出负责任的决定来保证他们的安全和健康。

“Sex education is about love— an inescapable topic for allof us. It guides us to knowourselves and others. It willbe easier to build better socialand close relationships basedon such understanding,” hesaid.

“Those pilot projects willinitiate some changes amongthe younger generation, whichI believe could be a great drivingforce for a national campaignin the future.”

          “性教育是有关爱的教育，而爱对我们每个人来说都是无法回避的话题。爱引导我们了解自己、了解他人。有这样的共识后，人们更易于建立良好的社会关系和亲密关系。”他说，“青爱工程将会改变我们的年轻人，我相信这个项目将成为一个全国性运动的巨大推动力。”