What is Sex Education?

Sex education helps people gain the information and skills they need to make the best decisions for themselves about sex and relationships ,Sex education, when done right, transforms lives, communities, and society at large. Sex education should be taught by trained educators and cover a wide range of topics, including relationships, decision making, communication, gender identity, body image, birth control, and sexually transmitted infection

Facts About Sex Education

Sex education is high quality teaching and learning about a broad variety of topics related to sex and sexuality. It explores values and beliefs about those topics and helps people gain the skills that are needed to navigate relationships with self, partners, and community, and manage one’s own sexual health. Sex education may take place in schools, at home, in community settings, or online.

• Human development, including puberty, anatomy, sexual orientation, and gender identity

• Relationships, including self, family, friendships, romantic relationships, and health care providers

• Personal skills, including communication, boundary setting, negotiation, and decision-making

• Sexual behavior, including the full spectrum of ways people choose to be, or not be, sexual beings

• Sexual health, including sexually transmitted infections, birth control, pregnancy, and abortion

• Society and culture, including media literacy, shame and stigma, and how power, identity, and oppression impact sexual wellness and reproductive freedom

What Role Does Planned Parenthood Play In Sex Education?

• Evidence-based and evidence-informed education programs that have been proven to work

• Peer education programs

• Promotores programs and other community-driven, culturally relevant health education programs

• Parent/family education programs

• LGBTQ-focused programs for LGBTQ youth and their parents/caregivers

• Training of professionals, including educators and school-staff, community-based organization staff, and faith-based leaders

• Outreach and single session workshops

Conclusion

The message here is clear, comprehensive sex education reduces rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual violence, especially when coupled with affordable and accessible contraception, affordable and accessible reproductive healthcare, and well-resourced community services. Everyone’s future is at stake in this matter. It’s well past time to stop allowing religious influence, propaganda, and societal stigma to inform how we disseminate vital, factual information to minors regarding sex and human sexuality.

Sex education may not have been the goal when I began my career but it has brought healing and hope for the future. My trauma and that of other survivors can’t be rewritten but I can take some solace from knowing I’m doing something with my life that will help others avoid the same fate. Comprehensive sex education can be directly responsible for reducing instances of sexual violence in both adults and children. But this can only happen if we let science and critical thinking win out and comprehensive sex education is widely implemented and normalized.