A-B-C: Abstinence, Billings, Condoms

THE EDITOR: I am a firm believer in basic education, A-B-C. I fully agree that the foremost message to school children should be abstinence with a big A.

Fine. I also thought that our religious institutions and parents had been giving that message for years. If we were genuinely confident in that message, we would not be troubled by however many condoms anyone distributed. I am therefore taken aback at the latest bacchanal about the distribution of a lot of information and a few condoms near schools. I see this effort as additive. It does not in any way destroy the integrity of the good work parents should have done at home and religious leaders, in their churches, mosques and temples. The next big letter is B for Billings. This is a method that has the approval of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a method that is especially appropriate for sexually active teenagers. It needs considerable knowledge of the female reproductive cycle and it relies on trust and intimacy, precisely the values we want to inculcate. One of the contributions Catholics could make is to ensure that the Billings Method is an integral component of any school-based sex education curriculum.

Finally, there is the big C, Condoms. This is widely recognised as the most reliable barrier method — for reducing the risk of unwanted pregnancy and for reducing the transmittal of sexual infections. There is a sense in which Mr Mikki Grant has already made his point most abundantly. One small action on his part has exposed 30 years of ambivalence, hesitation and in-betweenity among policy makers. He has already exposed the huge difference between the sense of urgency and impatience which non-governmental organisations experience, and the remoteness and torturous pace of government bureaucracy. Our various governments have had a complete curriculum for sexuality education since 1973. How much longer should we wait patiently for the government to act?

PETER ALMANDOZ
Port-of-Spain