Rape became a signal for the development of principles of sex education in a European country

In Norway, as a result of a survey, shocking data was obtained. Students want more information about sex and setting sexual boundaries. This issue became relevant after Norway’s largest broadcaster NRK reported that in 2023, the Oslo Anti-Violence Center recorded 748 rape victims, which is 70 percent more than in the previous ten years.

High school students understand the need for active sex education, as sociological surveys in schools have shown. They believe this is important because too many people in Norway watch porn, which is also confirmed by official data.

“We conducted a survey among students at the Ullerna Gymnasium, during which 100 students responded anonymously. 38 percent said they had been subjected to serious violence,” said sociologist Ingeborg Louise Langmoen.

Many survey participants said they were afraid of being raped or were hesitant to say “no” because boys are much stronger.

“I’m shocked myself because I didn’t expect such a large number of victims of violence,” admitted one of the respondents, eighteen-year-old Eric Schindlo.

Many survey participants stated that they tried to “work through” trauma with the help of psychoactive substances.

Students who identified themselves as victims of substance abuse in the study confirmed that they used them daily to cope with the events themselves, rather than seeking help.

Students Freya Fuglesteg Thorheim and Pia Cecily Harm from Ullerna Senior High School told reporters they would like more sex education in the program. Pia Cecily Harm admitted they received some sex education in high school, but stressed it was not enough.

“Substance abuse must also be included in sex education, and it cannot be taken for granted that young people know how to perform sexual intercourse in today’s porn and drug culture,” she said.

Public health nurses across the country will now be trained to provide better sexuality education in schools. The significant increase in rape among young people is causing concern among authorities and the public.

“There is a lot of pressure on social media and not least reality TV, which means sexuality among teenagers is very normalized. And porn plays an important role,” says Ton Bjornson Andersen, public health nurse and gender and sexuality clinic worker.

At the initiative of the Norwegian Directorate of Health, a training program has been established to teach public health nurses about harmful, problematic sexual behavior. The program was developed by the Resource Center for the Prevention of Violence, Traumatic Stress and Suicide in Norway.

The program teaches nurses, first of all, how to establish rapport with adolescents and how to ask them questions. They will also gain knowledge on preventing sexual violence and, just as importantly, promoting positive sexuality.

It’s about getting to know yourself and your body before sharing it with others. Young people need to be aware of what they want and what they don’t want. If a person does not know himself, it is difficult for him to convey his desires to others, and people should behave decently

Boys are more open to teaching the basics of sex education.

“I think we need to talk about this more. Parents need to talk to their children more, and we can give lectures at school,” says seventeen-year-old Sondre Højen Andersen.

Another student, Eric Schindlo, stressed that young people need to learn more about how to interpret signals and what consent really is.

“We need earlier classes in middle school,” he admits. “There are a lot of young people who are sexually active and don’t really know what they’re doing.”

According to the expert, people should behave decently, everyone knows that rape is wrong, but few people think about how it really happens.

Nurse Ton Bjornson Andersen. explains that the consequences of being the victim of an attack vary greatly. There is a long list of such health impacts that youth experience after abuse. These include, in particular, difficulties studying and communicating at school, anxiety, depression, problems with sleep and concentration, self-isolation and problems with eating.

“We need to talk more to young people about sexuality, and it’s high time we did something systematic,” Andersen said.

The survey results also showed that many experience difficulties after being abused. And to avoid trouble, as student Freya Fuglesteg Thorheim explained, “you need to change your attitude, focusing less on sex. You need to understand what crosses all boundaries; what is rape and what is consent. We have to learn body language and that ‘no’ is ‘no’.”