Safe Sex Education in the USA

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by: Ken Brower
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Sex education in American schools, and especially the teaching of safe sex and contraceptives in sex education classes, is a heavily debated matter in the USA. This debate is centered mainly on whether sex education should focus solely on teaching kids to practice abstinence, or whether things like birth control should be taught about as well. This is a matter of great concern in the U.S. right now, as America has the highest teen pregnancy rate for developed countries in the world, and has one of the highest teen STD rates as well. Statistics show those in recent years, 65% of STD infections were in people under the age of 24, and one out of four HIV infections were in people under the age of 22. In addition, about 66% of teenagers have had sex by their senior year of high school. All of these statistics have helped inspire people on both sides of the debate to increase their support for either set of beliefs: those who want comprehensive sex education say that students need to be informed about contraceptives, STD and HIV/AIDS prevention, and abstinence to help prevent pregnancy and STD rates from increasing, while those who are in favor of abstinence want students to be taught that they should practice abstinence until marriage, which they claim will help decrease the rates. This is not to say that the comprehensive sex education side is against abstinence though; in fact, they view abstinence as a worthy choice, but consider it to be one of several options that teenagers can use as a form of birth control, rather than the only option, which is what the pro-abstinence side wants.

As it is right now, there is no set sex ed system in American public schools, and while schools in one area or state may only teach about abstinence and/or STDs, schools in another place may instruct their students about issues like how to put a condom on. Only 18 states and Washington D.C. are required to even provide sex education at all. And as it is, the last few presidents have given a great deal of federal funding to the states for abstinence-only programs, which many of the states have accepted. Because of this, discussion of contraceptives like condoms and how to use them tends to be the least-covered topic in sex education classes; abstinence, HIV, and STDs however are almost always discussed. In addition, studies have shown that many sex education teachers are not properly trained or feel confident enough to teach about things like birth control, provided they're actually allowed to by the school. In general, reports done on the effects of abstinence-only programs vs. comprehensive sex ed programs show that abstinence-only programs have not made any effect on decreasing the frequency rate for teen sex, nor do teenagers who are taught in this way have sex any less often than teenagers who took comprehensive sex ed classes. On the other hand though, these reports show that teenagers who attend comprehensive sex education programs are more likely to practice safe sex and use contraceptives, and in fact, some of these programs have helped decrease the frequency of adolescent sex. Still, despite the fact that studies have found that the vast majority of American parents want at least some sort of comprehensive sex education taught in schools, including learning about contraceptives, the majority of school systems do not provide useful information to their students, and even for those which do, these schools tend to only cover the basics, and don't teach their students how to apply this information to their own lives in practical ways. Things like how to deal with the emotional pressures of sexual activity and how to talk to parents or partners about sex are not covered, even though they are equally important topics.

In general, American sex education programs can be more harmful than helpful, as the emphasis on abstinence over contraceptives means that many kids are becoming sexually active without knowing how to use birth control, and the information actually provided is not given to them in ways they can easily use in their own lives. This is even more unfortunate when one realizes that these sex education classes are often the only place teens learn about sex, as many American parents are reluctant to discuss sexual matters with their children. As things are right now though, it doesn't look like much will change anytime soon, as the government continues to fund abstinence-only programs, and neither side of the debate is willing to back down.

For more information visit: Safe Sex Education in the USA

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