Kaylee Madson
Graphic of a scared emoji.
Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
Sexual education is extremely important in the schooling of adolescents. It helps inform young adults about their bodies so they can make respectful, informed decisions about their own sexual relations. It also informs them about the importance of consent and respect in regard to their sexual partners.
However, most sex education is focused on abstinence-only methods, which use fear factors to discuss sexual health. These fear factors are unproductive in sex education and should not be used in the classroom.
In abstinence-only sex education, students are taught that the only way to ensure there are no consequences from premarital sex is to not participate in premarital sex. However, this method is ineffective in several aspects of sexual health, including in “delaying sexual debut, reducing the frequency of sex or reducing the number of sexual partners,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
In addition to being ineffective, abstinence-only sex education convinces students that only bad things can result from premarital sex. It teaches that abstinence is the only way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and contraction of sexually transmitted infections, disregarding other solutions as well as the good things that result from sex.
By focusing on abstinence-only sex education, educators use scare tactics to influence students’ opinions on sex. In my sex-education courses, we had to watch videos on teen pregnancy and the progression from HIV to AIDS. After walking out of these classes, I always felt like sex was something that could only cause harm. There was never any indication that anything good came out of sex.
“By changing the way we teach and talk about sex, we can make a difference in how adolescents think about and participate in sexual behaviors, which will benefit them in their futures.”
The seemingly looming threats of teen pregnancy and STIs made many people in my high school stressed about the idea of having sex. People who had sex were often frowned upon, and even mentioning sex seemed taboo. People were afraid to talk about the subject, let alone engage in it. And the people who did engage in it were not aware of the best ways to protect their emotional, physical and reproductive health in these encounters. The fear of sex seemed like it was instilled in everyone.
Besides using fear factors to influence adolescents to not participate in sex, abstinence-only sex education lacks current information on sexual health. It was not until after I participated in these sex-education courses that I learned there were other birth control methods beyond condoms and the pill, as well as several medications that can help prevent HIV from progressing to AIDS.
When I learned this, I realized my sex education did not teach me what it should have. An abstinence-focused sex-education class left out many important concepts about sex.
There are other sex education teaching styles that are more effective and more informative. Comprehensive sex education teaches different aspects of sexuality, including social, physical and emotional connections. Engaging in sexual activities requires a lot of awareness, not just about yourself but about others as well. Consent, respect and care should go into every single sexual encounter. By utilizing a comprehensive sex education program, adolescents can prepare for sex rather than be told they are not ready for it.
Comprehensive sex education also takes out the fear factor and instead empowers students to make their own informed decisions about their sexual lives. In addition to accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare, comprehensive sex education can help limit risky sexual behavior in adolescents.
As explained by UNESCO, it is proven that comprehensive sex education actually has positive effects on attitudes toward sexual encounters, and it increases an adolescent’s knowledge about sexual and reproductive health. This method is five times more likely to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the contraction of STIs than abstinence-only sex education.
By changing the way we teach and talk about sex, we can make a difference in how adolescents think about and participate in sexual behaviors, which will benefit them in their futures.
Reach Hana Pavelko at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @hanasolo13.