This middle schooler was dissatisfied with her school's sex-ed, so she did something about it

Freyja Paynter-Bearden has a better view than most of the sexual-health education students are taught in New Brunswick's schools.

That's because she is one of those students.

When Paynter-Bearden, 12, moved to Fredericton two years ago, she said she was unimpressed with the level of sex-ed she was learning.

"I could see the difference in [the] amount of education we were getting from old schools, and I compared them and realized in two years I [had] almost not learned anything on sexual-health education," she said.

So doing what most 12-year-olds wouldn't do, she distributed an anonymous survey to 250 students at her middle school, École Sainte-Anne, to see what classmates understood about sex-ed topics.

"I think if people can't resort to school to get sexual- health education, then they're going to resort to other places"​​​- Freyja Paynter-Bearden, Grade 7 student, École Sainte-Anne

In Halifax, where Paynter-Bearden previously attended school, she said students received presentations that explained the basic concepts of menstruation and hormones, and how to use period pads. 

But in Grade 6, at her new school, she said she received a little education on mental health and online safety and that was about it, and so far this school year, she doesn't feel she's learned anything about sexual health.

Paynter-Bearden received survey responses from 191 of the students, in grades 6, 7 and 8, to questions about their understanding of sex-ed topics in the curriculum. 

There were some statistics that stood out to her. One-third of respondents, she said, didn't think they had an adequate understanding of sexually transmitted infections, consent or online safety. 

And 49 per cent of respondents said they did not learn information about sexual-health subjects from school and instead got it from unreliable sources, such as the internet and friends. 

"I think if people can't resort to school to get sexual-health education, then they're going to resort to other places, and it's really the school's responsibility to make sure that doesn't have to happen," said Paynter-Bearden.

She said she has since shared the information she gathered with her vice-principal, who has been very supportive, and there have already been some positive changes, such as period products in the bathrooms.

Feedback to the survey was mixed, with some who said they were happy the topic was getting attention and others who said they were uncomfortable with the survey because they didn't understand some of the concepts.

The survey also asked questions about 2SLGBTQ+ topics, such as the controversial changes to Policy 713, which was originally introduced in 2020 to guarantee minimum support for LGBTQ students.

And while some of her teachers and her parents are taking her seriously, Paynter-Bearden said she didn't get much of a response from the government when she shared her results, besides just a "thank you" and "keep up the good work."

Under the Higgs government, Bill Hogan, the education minister, talked about reviewing the sex-ed curriculum and letting parents choose if their child could participate in the personal wellness part of the curriculum. The government also banned a Quebec-based sex education group from presenting at schools after a photo from the presentation made the rounds on social media.

Paynter-Bearden said she plans to re-send the results of her survey, along with new information she's learned, now that a new government has been elected. 

"I think we need to listen to the voices of youth a lot more and … give resources towards sexual-health education and check up on it every once in a while," she said.