Numerous stories detailing alleged gaps in knowledge of sexual issues by children and young people appeared in Irish media over the weekend as the NCCA’s online consultation on a new RSE course for schools came to an end. The Times, Ireland edition, led the way on Saturday with no fewer than three stories detailing the situations children are finding themselves in due to their lack of awareness of online dangers.
“Teenagers’ sex videos shared by paedophiles”, read one story, while another was headlined, “Sex predators targeting children in explicit group chats on Twitter”. A third story explicitly brought up RSE with the headline, “Alert children aged 2 to online risks, charity urges.”
On the Late Late Show Friday night, a man told his story of being in shock when he was diagnosed in 2012, at the age of 21, with HIV. Robbie Lawlor told Ryan Tubridy, he “didn’t know HIV existed in Ireland” and he didn’t understand how he was getting this diagnosis. He had just finished a four year degree in UCD in zoology and was hoping to travel to Australia, but the diagnosis scuppered those plans. He added that education of young people on the matter today is “non-existent”. He is now an activist for HIV/Aids awareness and had a piece in the journal.ie on Friday on that very subject.
