AIDS talks for adolescents.

In November 1994 Frances Ministry of Education mandated that third- and fourth-year secondary school students receive at least 2 hours of sex education per year. Since the beginning of such education most requests for information on AIDS have come from third-year students generally aged 14-15 years and some of whom are sexually active. Sex education should be given to all students with no one excused from attendance due to parental objections. Sex practices and homosexuality must be discussed in detail in AIDS education in order to make students aware of how HIV can be transmitted and how it is not transmitted. Students should be made aware of the risks associated with sexual activity and IV drug use and strongly urged to take precautions. In addition the stages of HIV infection should be explained and attention given to transmission routes and high-risk practices with focus given to the main elements which need to be learned and understood. While not exaggerating high school students risk of contracting HIV the educator and facilitator of discussion must also try to convey the seriousness of HIV infection should it occur. Moreover a tolerance of differences in sexual orientation should be encouraged and all questions posed by students answered with neither ambivalence nor embarrassment even though some questions may be highly specific and even repugnant.