Sex education should be taught in the home and at school, a health education lecturer at the University of Canterbury says.
It comes as National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis said at a public meeting in Alexandra in June that sex education is "a job for me and my husband to do with our kids, based on our values and our view of the world".
The sentiment was echoed last month after party leader Christopher Luxon told attendees at a public meeting in Canterbury that "those sexuality issues should be dealt with in the home, and by parents and within their own family environments in the home".
However, speaking to 1News today, Willis said those comments were taken out of context, and believed sex education should be taught both at home and at school.
"I think it has to be both because parents will always have a leading role in these conversations," Willis said.
"The school also has an important role to play in ensuring students are well informed and get age appropriate information."
University of Canterbury health education lecturer Tracy Clelland said through her research, both teenagers and parents alike have said sex education should be "a combination deal", where it is taught in the home and at school.
"Both of them are saying it needs to be taught in the home, and young people want to hear their parents' values — that's really crucial. But also, they want to hear it at school. They want to hear what other adults say," Clelland told Breakfast.
"You need to have sexuality education in the home because it's occurring everywhere. They're seeing media, they're learning messages about how relationships work so it needs to be in the home but it also needs to be in schools so they can hear different values, different beliefs."
She said many young people are not being taught sex education by their parents, leading them to turn to pornography or "asking their friends and getting incorrect information".
A newly-released app, Te Puāwaitanga: Beyond the Birds and Bees, was developed by the university to open up conversations around sex and sexuality for parents and their children, as well as teachers looking to increase their knowledge.
The platform, made with input from young people over two years, brings together "all the good, safe, reliable information together in one space", she said.
"There will be sections on it that parents might disagree with, but then they can share those values with their children if they agree or disagree."
Clelland acknowledged that the topic is "an uncomfortable conversation for many parents, and some of them find it difficult and lots of them don't have the knowledge base".
"But what we've found from all the research is that young people just want their parents to have communication with them."
She pointed to the conversations parents have with their children from when they are born, such as gender stereotypes and "enjoying your body and who you are".
"If they didn't have that as a young child, it had long-term implications as adults. Many of the parents I interviewed talked about the shame they still felt about their bodies when sex or sexuality wasn't talked about and so they grew up thinking it was dirty."
She also addressed the difference between sex education and "sexuality and relationship education".
"I get very concerned when I hear politicians talk about sex education. Sex is about the physical element and sexual development. Sexuality and relationship education — that's what young people want.
"They want to understand how to navigate relationships in a digital world and as you said, they can find the answers online but we don't know what kind of answers they're finding."
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