Sex Education in Public Schools of the United States

Sex. It’s something many people think about, but not everyone talks about. However, according to the Kinsey Institute, the average age that teens start having sex in the U.S.A is 17, and according to the American Sexual Health Association, 1 in 2 people will contract an STI by the age of 25. This means that there is a fifty-fifty chance that half of this class has had, or will have, a sexually transmitted infection before they complete their college careers–– yet only 24 states mandate sexual education, with only 13 of those requiring the instruction to be medically correct. Therefore, non-abstinence based sex education should be required to be taught in schools across the nation. For one, studies have shown that abstinence-based sex ed do not change when teens have sex. Furthermore, girls and boys alike will be better equipped with knowledge about what is and is not acceptable in different settings. Lastly, with better and more thorough classes, many commons sexually transmitted diseases can be prevented.

Abstinence-only education is not enough to cover all the information young adults need. Most programs stress that monogamous heterosexual marriages are the only appropriate form of sexual intercourse. According to research scientist Dr. Laura Lindberg, that expectation is “not just unrealistic, but it leaves our young people without the information and skills that they need.” She also went on to say, that it “violates medical ethics and harms young people.” While this is in place to honor certain religious beliefs, the first amendment of the constitution states that there must be a separation between church and state. Nonetheless, as many schools have implemented, there will still be the option for parents to choose their child opt out of such classes. Similarly, those parents who wish their child only be informed of the abstinence route can always speak to their children themselves. Additionally, contrary to popular belief, abstinence-only education does not affect the rates at which teenagers decide to have sex. It is more dependent on their peers and environment.

But that’s not the only reason young people need it. Students will feel more comfortable reporting sexual misconduct, which in term can lessen the misconduct as those perpetrators will fear being caught. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men experience some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. In fact, out of 1,000 rapes, 995 of those perpetrators walk free. Out of the same 1,000 less than ¼ are actually reported– which is 230. Perpetrators of sexual violence are the least likely criminals to go to jail or prison for their crime. If young people knew what signs to look out for, and what to do in case of emergencies, then they would lead a safer life in general.

Many STDs and unwanted pregnancies could be prevented. If teens were aware of proper use of contraceptive and additional efforts The U.S. annually reports 30 teen births per thousand. But according to World Bank, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland has fewer than 4 teen births per thousand babies born. How is this difference possible? Those countries have a generally progressive approach to sexual education, whereas the U.S. is more repressive. In the Netherlands, children are taught about sexual identity in primary school, between the ages of 4 to 11. Their rate is 5 teen births per thousand. In the United States, 20 million STD cases alone are teens. But in the last year, according to ASHA, only 12% of teens went to get tested for STIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 7 people living with HIV are not even aware of it.

In short, Teaching medically correct sexual education to young people is crucial to their health and wellbeing because abstinence-only education hasn’t been proven to work, there is a better chance that people will be equipped with what to do when they come across a bad situation, and less diseases and teen pregnancies will arise. As Dr. Lindberg said, “We tell people not to drink and drive, we don’t teach them not to drive… We would never withhold information about seat belts because they wouldn’t know how to protect themselves,” so why withhold information about natural human behavior?

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