Scouting Ahead

Monday November 24, 2008

The United States Boy Scouts may be a notoriously conservative organization , but their British counterpart, the Scouting Association, has just made the very progressive decision to provide comprehensive sex education to its members. Under new guidelines, scout leaders have been instructed to "encourage young people to resist pressure to have early sex" but to also provide information about alternatives, such as condoms. In addition, scouts as young as 14 years old will be taken on tours of sexual health clinics and learn negotiation skills. I think it's a great way to address the fact that Great Britain has some of the highest STD rates in western Europe.