K-12 schools should teach comprehensive sex education

Mika Perez, Contributing Writer

At some point in our lives, we have been taught about sex.

The topics that are primarily taught are puberty, relationships, sexually transmitted infections, and personal skills such as communication and boundary setting.

Most of the time, sex education is taught throughout sixth and seventh grade, but after that, it’s never brought up.

Many states such as Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana teach abstinence-only sex education. Abstinence-only education teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other associated health problems. Additionally, it teaches that sexual activity outside of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects.

Abstinence-only education is taught in 19 states, five of which are not required to teach sex education or contraception. Virginia law states that schools are required to teach topics related to sex education as part of their health education program. However, the curriculum is not required to be comprehensive and/or include instruction on sexual identity and orientation.

Due to the lack of information taught about sex, students are more likely to engage in riskier sexual situations, such as having sex for the first time without contraception. Additionally, abstinence-only programs tend to cause damaging thoughts within adolescents by controlling how they view sex and insinuating that sex is shameful. 

These ideas cause young students to become more prone to anxiety, depression and insecurity. Young people have a right to comprehensive, medically accurate sex education to keep them safe and healthy.

Abstinence-only education doesn’t even work. In Mississippi, where abstinence-only education is taught, the teen pregnancy rate is extremely high. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected data which revealed that there were 2,711 teen pregnancies in Mississippi. It was also found that 62% of all pregnant women in Mississippi described their pregnancies as unplanned.

While abstinence may be effective at preventing STIs and pregnancy, it is evidently not realistic. Abstinence should be a choice, rather than an expectation. The federal government must reconsider allowing states to choose whether or not to allow abstinence-only “education.”

David Finkelhor, the director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, found that 20% of adult females and 5-10% of adult males recall a childhood sexual assault or sexual abuse incident. Comprehesive sex education provides adolescents with critical support resources if one has experienced sexual assault or abuse.

Looking back on my experience attending public school in Virginia, I realize I’ve learned more about sex from social media than from my teachers. Social media taught me that a female’s hymen can break during her first time having intercourse, which causes bleeding, and that urinating after sex can prevent urinary tract infections — but I should have learned this in school.

To prevent this from happening, schools should teach sex education more often with information all about each subjects. Schools should also offer resources for students who want to ask for help anonymously or in a private setting, providing this essential knowledge without fear of judgment.

It has also been found that current sex education primarily focuses on heterosexual relationships, leading to LGBTQ+ students feeling sexually unprepared. Moving forward, it is essential to account for all relationships to ensure that sex education is inclusive.

Ultimately, when kids are not taught about sex in school, they suffer greatly. We’ve seen time and time again that teaching abstinence does not work — yet it is still widely preached. 

It is important that we do not shy away from talking about sex with young people, but gradually expose them to it and assist them along the way. Moreover, normalizing sex talk and destigmatizing the feelings of shame attached to this human function will ensure that young people are prepared for any circumstance they face.