Sex Education season 3 praised for debunking HIV myths in powerful scene

23 September 2021, 13:04

Sex Education stars enjoy road trip across the US

By Sam Prance

"Sex Education have managed to - in 30 seconds - explain the basics of what people need to know about HIV/AIDS."

Sex Education season 3 is being praised by fans for educating viewers about HIV and debunking myths in a powerful scene.

Ever since the first season of Sex Education came out on Netflix in 2019, critics have lauded the series for the ways in which it helps break down taboos surrounding sex and manages to be informative as well as hilarious. Not only that but it can also be moving. Aimee's sexual assault storyline in season 2 was so well done that Aimee Lou Wood won a BAFTA for her performance.

Now, viewers are celebrating the show for a scene in which a nurse educates Anwar about HIV in a really clear, helpful way.

READ MORE: Sex Education fans praise Aimee and Jean's "powerful" sexual assault conversation

In episode 4 of Sex Education season 3, Anwar is worried that he might have a sexual disease and visits a nurse to find out. In the scene, the nurse asks if Anwar ever has unprotected sex and he replies by saying: "Every film I’ve ever seen with a gay person ends with them having sex and dying of AIDS. I don’t want to die. So, yeah, I always use a condom."

The nurse then clears things up. She says: "So long as you and your partner, or partners, are practising safer sex, getting tested regularly, you’re very unlikely to contract HIV. There’s medication now called PrEP that protects people from contracting HIV if they are engaging in frequent casual sex in situations that might be putting them at high risk."

She then adds: "And for those that do contract the virus, there’s medicines now that enable them to live a long and healthy life, even get to the stage where the virus is undetectable, which means it can’t be passed on to somebody else. So, I don’t think you’re gonna be dying for a while yet."

Viewers are praising the scene for being more informative than actual sex education in schools.

One person tweeted: "a 30 second clip of #SexEducation doing more than most of our high schools did in five years". Another wrote: "I’m so impressed by how #SexEducation have managed to - in 30 seconds - explain the basics of what people need to know about HIV/AIDS."

Fingers crossed that schools take note and use information like this in future sex education classes.