Planned Parenthood comes to the North

SARA MINOGUE

Nunavut needs more sexual education, says Steve Carroll, director of national programs for Planned Parenthood in Ottawa.

Planned Parenthood is dedicated to helping all marginalized groups — including youth, women, rural populations or aboriginal populations — to learn more about sexual health so they can take advantage of services.

“Chlamydia rates in Nunavut are 17 times the national average,” Carroll says. “You have to pay attention.”

Carroll secured funding for the Y.E.A.H. North weekend workshop from an anonymous foundation, and traveled to Iqaluit himself to observe the workshop and meet educators at Public Health and Nunavut Arctic College.

During his visit, Carroll met Terry Young and Sheila Levy, principal and guidance counsellor at Inuksuk High School, to share Beyond the Basics: A Sourcebook on Sexual and Reproduction Health Education.

Beyond the Basics is a 400-page teaching manual with lesson plans for kids aged 9 to 18 on subjects ranging from fertility and puberty to sexual identity, safe sex and AIDs.

Carroll says he was impressed with the level of awareness among the youth participating in the Y.E.A.H. program, but notes that the need for information on family planning is acute, using Arviat as an example.

The new school in Arviat is preparing for 75 kindergarten students next year, out of a population of 2,000.

“That’s off the scale. That’s an incredibly high number,” Carroll says. “But it’s only a problem if the community can’t support that.”

“Individuals need to take responsibility for their sexual health, but they can’t do that if there aren’t supports in place.”

Planned Parenthood, which funds Y.E.A.H. North, plans to take its project to Arviat, Rankin Inlet and Cape Dorset next.