Charlie Dior
Fashion critic and media personality, Charlie Dior, has called on parents, especially mothers, to be practical and include condoms in their children’s provisions to help curb rising HIV/AIDS cases among the youth.
Speaking on Peace FM, Charlie said the rising cases of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections among the youth can be reduced if parents are honest and equip their children with sexual preventive kits.
“Real life issues like HIV… we are not educating the students enough about sexually transmitted diseases. For me, our syllabus teaches children to draw a butterfly and label it, but we need to teach these kids about real life issues. And some of these real life issues are horrible,” he disclosed.
The critic argued that pretending children are not sexually active is not realistic, especially at senior high school and university levels. “Breaking news: they are having sex. Period. You don’t want to hear it. Your kids are having sex,” he stated.
“Parents, if you’re listening to me, I was a kid once. Sex education is really, really important. If you don’t give them the right information, they will get the wrong information from the internet and their peers.”
Charlie stressed that protection is key to keeping young people safe. “If you are feeling it, use this. Protection is the key. Life is about balance,” he said.
He urged mothers to overcome cultural discomfort and have open conversations with their children about sex. “Education is very powerful. We empower the youth by educating them. When you deny them knowledge, you leave them to make mistakes,” he stated, and added, “Let’s tell them not to have sex until marriage, but also give them both information. Nyankopɔn is great, we love it, but it doesn’t always work. Please protect yourselves from all these diseases.”
By Prince Fiifi Yorke