Julia’s blog

  Malaysia-sex education in Malaysia focuses only on the biological aspects of sex, ignoring things such as  consent, contraception and emotional wellbeing. Sex education is all about abstinence. That's why The Woman, Family and Community Development Ministry demanded better sex education. Religious schools are also a problem because they deny any kind of sex education which leaves children uneducated about their future. The Netherlands-we all know that The Netherlands is a liberal country. In their etos there is written that sex is a natural part of human life (which is obviously true!). Compulsory, sex education is obligatory for all children aged 4 and older. They teach about everything that's needed: contraception, respect for their bodies and sexuality, consent and pleasure. Everything is covered that is why teen pregnancy rates are really low. New Zealand-in New Zealand sex education has been taught since year 1999 and it is considered as one of the most important areas ...

 Teaching about sex education is a really important task to do which many countries fail to master. It is obvious that sex education differs from country to country but in some its flaws can cause real harm. Here is how sex education looks around the world. Belgium-Belgians are really relaxed when it comes to talking about sex. A site ,,Alles Over Sex" (All about sex) created by a sex health organisation, used to teach 15-year-olds but now they recommend 7-year-olds to take a look at their page. It is taken by some as disturbing and controversial though. China-Sex education in China nearly doesn’t exists. This has led to alarming rising rates of abortion ans STDs. Uneducated teenagers enter the adulthood with no sex knowledge. Some schools tried to change it by using sex education textbooks but were very quickly removed because of the parents' uproar. India-as well as in China sex education isn't compulsory in India which leads to very disturbing statistics. Over 53% of ch...

Opinios about teaching sex education in schools are divided. While the Centres for Disease Control recommends teaching about comprehensive sex education in schools, others remain unconvinced. Many students, even when schools require a sex education class, learn only about reproduction or the consequences of sex or relationships. They should be taught about contraceptives and safe sex in general. The school teach only the biological aspects of sex rather than the results of teen pregnancy, teen dating violence, the benefits of abstinence and personal health. The reason why true sex education is avoided may be stigmatised nature, religion or old-fashion thinking. The only exception to sex education requirements are private schools especially religious ones. Also for certain kinds of sex education parent can request their child not to attend the class. But some students as well claim that their parents, not school, should decide about their kids attending sex education class, because they...

 When sex education isn't properly taught whether at school or at home, teenagers reach for knowledge in the internet. This leads to huge disinformation and distorts the image of sex. 80% of the worldwide population is online which makes adult content freely accessible. As we all know porn doesn't reflect how sex really looks like but it was made for mostly men pleasure. Emily Rothman, which is a Professor of Community Health Sciences, led a study of 72 teens in age 15-17. It turned out that pornography is their number one source of information about sex. This may lead to development of harmful attitudes towards sex or abusive behaviours towards woman. The best way to defend young people against negative influence of pornography is to equip them with comprehensive, factual and sex-positive education. If they had enough knowledge about sex when they first come across any pornographic material, they would be resistant to its worst influences.  At least 16 countries control onlin...

 Communication with your partner about sexual intercourses is one of the most crucial factor for safe and satisfying sex. But still we are often too scared to talk about sex and end up feeling either uncomfortable or dissatisfied. Why is it so hard to talk about sex?  Research shows that talking about sex can cause sharing private aspects of yourself or feeling negative emotions such as shame or embarrassment. Fears of rejection or hurting your partner by saying what you like in the bedroom whether you would like to try something new, also makes it hard to speak your feelings. Talking during sex is also a really important matter. Many may think that it would ,ruin the moment' but this just makes you able to experience more pleasure. There is also such thing as nonverbal communication such as moving a hand, slowing down or speeding up. This type of communication will not interfere with enjoyment or of sensuous contact. By my own experience i know that trouble with talking about...

 Many people, especially in Poland, take sexual education as a taboo subject. The sexual education knowledge is on a really low and concerning level but no wonder, if young people’s parents do not often want to have a serious talk about it. But why is sexual education so important?  Many young people receive confusing information about relationships and sex while making a transition from a child to an adult. The lack of knowledge about age- and developmentally-appropriate sexual and relationship education may lead to dangerous sexual behaviours. There are evidence on how sexual education has many advantages in lives of young adults. The first and most important one is that it increases young people's knowledge and improves their real attitude to sexual and reproductive health behaviours. The next one (which about many parents are concerned) says that sexual education (in or out of schools) does not increase sexual activity and the rate of risky behaviours causing STDs. Quite t...

  The Dutch government stated that they will pay for woman from Poland to obtain abortions. The near-total ban on abortion in Poland caused many women their lifes. The money will come from a found that is supporting other vulnerable groups abroad (mostly ,,third world countries”) and it will provide a safe access to getting an abortion. The decision was made after an enormous case about a woman called Izabela who lost her life due to a near-total abortion ban. She died in a hospital after the decision of doctors that they will wait until the foetus dies itself before they are going to remove it.   Abortion in the Netherlands is permitted on demand up to the 22nd week of pregnancy gowith costs ranging between €480 and €930. The Dutch government wants Polish woman to know that they are safe in the Netherlands and they do not have to worry about the big costs of abortion.   I think that what the Netherlands is doing is really important not only for the woman in our country b...

 The number of covid cases and deaths caused by the virus in Poland is rapidly growing. Since two days, Poland is recording over 28 000 new cases and today the deaths' cases reached 497 (which is the most since early may). Although Poland's situation with the Covid-19 virus looks really bad, our government does not seem to care at all. Mister Niedzielski (our health minister) says that restrictions are not necessary and could even be counterproductive. He also claims that the situation is not that bad because last year at that time 22 000 people with covid were hospitalised while now the number is only 19 000. Niedzielski maintained his opinion by saying that restrictions are much less effective than vaccines (to comparison to last year when there was in Poland a strong lockdown). He also said that the percentage of vaccinated Poles is 60% and with adding the people who are post covid and have antibodies, the percentage reaches 70-75% which provides a ,strong population immunit...

 In a study probing scientific knowledge among the general public Poland war ranked fifth from the bottom (among EU member states and 11 countries outside the EU). 11 scientific questions were asked were only 10% of Poles got 8 or more correct which states us right at the bottom just above Greece(8%), Cyprus(5%), Bulgaria(4%) and Romania(2%). At the top we could find among others Luxemburg, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland and Finland. The studies have shown that only 52% of Poles believe in the idea of evolution while 36% completely reject this idea. It was also known that 37% of people in Poland say that they are not at all interested in any new scientific discoveries which was the highest figure in the EU. Polish people with the score of 46% would describe scientist as arrogant. I think that we should be ashamed of such results. In my opinion the issue with a high percentage of Poles not believing in the idea of evolution is caused by the Catholic Church. We should start educating ourse...

  A 29-year-old woman Frozan Safi who was an activist and a woman’s right defender was killed. She was shot several times on her face, head, heart, chest, kidneys and legs. Since mid-August women in Afghanistan have been regularly protesting against the Taliban (an religious sect that promotes uselessness of woman). Right now the girls are banned from secondary school and woman have been barred from most sports and work. Extremists from the Taliban are on a daily basis beating woman with electric batons and torturing reporters who fight for women rights. The activists say that they are being haunted down by the Taliban. Unfortunately the Taliban is now in power over Afghanistan. Due to the fact that the International Peace Keeping Coalition has left the country. In my opinion this is just another example that the major religions (which do not value women as equal as men) in the world still have not caught up with modern times. I also think that religion should not have such a big i...

  Recently I have noticed that the number of people infected by Covid-19 are constantly increasing. Still, a big number of polish people do not want to get vaccinated. The biggest number of infections as well as the number of those who are not vaccinated, is the biggest in the east of Poland. The statistics show that vaccinations limits the spread of the virus and not only that, vaccinated people who do get infected experience less serious consequences than those who did not.  I think that people who do not get vaccinated because of their own believes (which are not supported by science) are irresponsible socially. It would not be that bad if they caused harm only to themselves but the people around them are also being influenced by their stupidity. The risk of them getting infected is higher as if they were vaccinated. I think that in that case people should not only think about themselves but more about people around them who are being harmed by their recklessness. 

 Nowadays people often say the words ,i love you’ without really knowing the true meaning behind it. The words ,i love you’ are often used as a replacement for ,thank you’, ,i like spending time with you’ or ,you are a nice person’. I have observed that many of my friends are starting to use these words way to soon (some after one day of knowing each other) even though they do not mean it. I think people just do not know how love actually feels like or maybe they have not experienced it yet. They don’t have the special bond to it, although they should. I noticed that sadly,  those 3 meaningful words, put together lost all meaning to some people. In my opinion, the question remains: what should we do to bring back its’ proper status and importance?

  Recently i have noticed that many people call each other best friends or they enter a relationship without even knowing each other. They just want to enter a relation as fast as possible which most of the time does not end well. I have seen many people around me doing so and nearly all of them ended without the person they apparently seemed to be so close to. Many fast going relations that have not been there for a longer time are not as deep as the people who are in it like to believe. You may think that you have achevied a real and deep connection but lets be honest, how well can you know a person after meeting them just couple of days ago? It may seem that you are happy with each other but it could be only adrenaline and excitment - not a real feeling but it still may feel like you are in love.

Recently i have noticed that many people tend to act different when they are in a group. When they are in a group their way of thinking, opinions or even the way they dress seem to completely change to when they are alone with me. I feel like they are not themselves and they are creating a whole new person that they are not. I think that people trying to adjust to groups so that they will not be left out. In many cases a group simply will not accept people unless they act, think or even dress in a certain way. That is very upsetting because I think that people should not be afraid of how they think, their opinions, the way their dress and simply who they are.

  Recently, when I've been travelling to the school by public transportation, going for walks or to the shop, I noticed that people are looking at each other (including at me) like they hate everyone. They look at you with so much hate in their eyes and it feels like they are unstoppable judging you, which can drastically decrease your mood. When I was abroad for example in Germany and the Netherlands, there was a whole new world. People on the streets were smiling at you, everyone offered their help and i felt really good around other people (unlike in Poland). I think that it may be caused simply by our character. Since centuries Polish people were told that they deserve something better, that they always are the victims and that everyone is against them. So no wonder that nowadays people think the same way but, more often, about a particular social group or certain people. A lot of people (especially politics) criticise not only their opponent, but also civilians. We are not lea...

  People with psychopathic, narcissistic or Machiavellanistic personalities can't see other people's feelings which means that they have no empathy. They don't have a sense of guilt which stops people from immoral behaviors. Both narcissists and psychopaths are social predators that are looking for feeding grounds. So what can we do to prevent ourselves from this kind of people? An Australian psychologist Clave Boddy thinks, that companies should employ psychologists to asses potential leaders and determinate their suitability for power. They could also speak to children who give signs of dark triad trails such as cruelty, lack of empathy, guilt or no emotion I think that preventing others from the influence of psychopaths, narcissists or sociopaths is very important. They could be very dangerous because their influence could feel like a poison eating you from inside. I also think that what Clave Boddy says could change things. An interview with a person who has psychopathi...

  Due to the pandemic simple gestures like handshake, a hug or a kiss on the cheek had to be stopped. Some experts say that we should never return to our past habits but it has been proven that in some cultures these habits have big psychological and biological benefits. Physical contact reduces stress, increases our immunity and connects us with people we love. It makes us feel better and we know that others care about us. In many countries after the pandemic started, self-reported hygiene has dramatically increased. Even though physical touch is really important, we need to have balance between the old habits and the social distancing. We cannot break the boundaries and hug or shake our hand with new new and improved hygiene habits. I think that physical touch is really important but only with people who we trust, love or feel comfortable around. In these times we need to keep the distance so the pandemic can be finally over. Of course we are hugging, kissing our family members a...

  The studies on the covid 19 pandemic have shown that many people were mentally affected by the lockdown. Depression, anxiety and stress were common reactions to the pandemic and they have increased over the time. For some, the increased level of stress was accompanied with poorer sleep or alcohol use. Mental toughness is for example the possibility of controlling your emotions, being able to see opportunities and the level of confidence a parson has. The studies have shown that people who scored higher on a mental toughness questionnaire reported lower level of stress, anxiety and depression. I think that mental toughness is really important because we get through many unpleasant and stressful situations in our life. Although sometimes it might get really hard, we shall not give up and keep going. We should also remember not to take everything personally. If you want to improve your mental toughness you should try relaxation, positive thinking, goal setting and self-motivation. T...

  The spread of misinformation is nothing new to us. Right now when the proliferation of social media, misinformation and fake news are more accessible than ever. They have been associated with high-profile events like the US election or the Covid 19 vaccine. But the studies show that not everyone is affected by them. People with greater emotional intelligence are better at spotting them. Being able to think analytically is one of the main drivers in spotting fake news. The studies in UK have shown that overly emotional that is often a part of fake news allows greater focus on the veracity itself. Sure enough, those with greater emotional intelligence were better at detecting the fake news content.  Recently, when the number of fake news is increasing, I started to be more critical and not to believe everything I read on the internet or see on the TV. I try to analyze every piece of information I run up against. I am not quite sure whether I have a high emotional intelligence ...

  In the past cannabis supply was imported only from places like Morocco or Lebanon.  From 80% of the cannabis used in UK , 30% was grown in the country in the 90's and has increased to over 90% right now. In the recent years there was another major shift mostly by small-scale-growers. Many cannabis users don't depend on drug dealers. They simply produce marihuana themselves. Most small-scale-growers weren't involved in any criminal behaviour and were normal people with job, family and friends. The produce of cannabis has mostly increased because of the Covid-19. Most of the people claim that it was harder to meet up with a person they grew with, they want a healthier product, they don't want to get involved with criminals or simply because they get pleasure from doing so. I am not surprised that there has been an increase in cannabis production. I can understand the people because everything is harder to get, not only cannabis but food, cafe etc. Instead of going to a ...