Bailey Butler

Proposal Paper

Lets Talk About Safe Sex

Americas regulations and policies on sex and HIV education have vastly improved over

the last 40 years, but an inconsistent form of teaching among the states results in some severely

life changing problems. Of the 50 states in the United States, only twenty-two of them, excluding

the District of Columbia, require both sex and HIV education. Eighteen states within the U.S. are

required to educate students on contraception, and twenty-seven of the states are required to teach

abstinence as the sole form of contraception. These are just a few numbers from the state laws and

policies of sex and HIV education as of October 2017, and the multiple different things states

decide they can and cannot control is effecting their rates of unwanted pregnancies and

transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The following paragraphs will focus less

on HIV education and more on the information and about comprehensive vs. abstinent sex

education, the effects of comprehensive sex education on our youth, and a comparison of the US

sex education programs and other countries programs. Proper and thorough sex education in the

US can aid in the general awareness and action of safe sexual intercourse.

The United States is considered number one in many ways, and having the highest rates of

teenage pregnancy and transmission of STIs, by more than triple other countries rates, is one of

them. The response involved funding an abstinence-only sex education program. In 2006 and

2007, funding for this program was $176 million annually. According to the National Center for

Biotechnology Information (NCBI) the main view of the program was to delay sexual activity

until marriage, and under the federal funding regulations most of these programs cannot include

information about contraception or safer-sex practices. The funding for the program, however,
ended in June 2009 and moved to fund a teen pregnancy prevention initiative. This allowed for a

large amount of evidence proving abstinence-only programs were ineffective. However,

abstinence-only funding was restored in 2010. Both abstinence-only and contraception-based sex

education programs were being funded by March 23rd, 2010, allowing legislators of individual

states to choose the type of sex education that would best help prevent teenage pregnancies in their

state. However, according to Health Research Funding (HRF) federal study involving abstinence-

only programs found that these programs had no impacts on the rate of teen sexual abstinence.

Teenagers tend to turn to the internet because of the improper sex education being given to them,

and in 2014, forty-six percent of online websites containing information about contraception are

inaccurate. The HRF also comments on the effects of abstinent-only education of pregnancy, and

evidence is given showing teenagers in these programs are more likely to become pregnant.

Although abstinence-only programs are scarce in the United States, there were 33% of teenagers

recorded to have never received proper instruction on any forms of contraception in 2014. An

editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune makes the comment Utah instead will continue its strategy of

keeping kids ignorant on the hope it keeps the chaste, even though that has never been shown to

work, here or anywhere else in early 2017. This, however, is not occurring in every US state.

Research on proper sex education has resulted in positive health impacts among teenagers. Stated

by Advocates for Youth, behavioral outcomes have included delaying the initiation of sex as well

as reducing the frequency of sex, number or new partners, and the incidence of unprotected sex,

and/or increasing the use of condoms and contraception among sexually active participants.

Advocates for Youth also point out the long-term impacts including lowering STI transmission

and pregnancy rates. Evaluations also showed that the programs do not increase rates of sexual

initiation and do not lower the age of those initiating in sex.

 Healthy decision-making is directly affected by the skills supplied to us as we grow and

proceed through life. Being provided with proper, beneficial life skills is important to leading a

healthy life, and comprehensive sex education can supply teenagers with the tools they need to

make healthy decisions regarding sex. Sex education is defined by Future of Sex Ed as the

provision of information about bodily development, sex, sexuality, and relationships, along with

skill-building to help young people communicate about and make informed decisions regarding

sex and their sexual health. This allows teenagers many advantages that abstinence-only cannot

offer. Positive communication related to sexual health aids teenagers in freely discussing sex,

contraception, things they are and are not ready for, and can overall protect their general health as

an individual. Comprehensive sex education teaches that delaying sex should be a personal choice,

and only you can determine whether you are ready or not. The difference between a healthy and

unhealthy relationship is also detailed, allowing teenagers to identify patterns of each.

Comprehensive sex education also encourages a comfort in ones body, no matter the choices they

choose to make regarding sex or their sexual health. This also teaches teenagers what sexual

violence is, why it is wrong, and how to get help if put in a situation of being assaulted. Autonomy

of oneself and the respect of the autonomy of others is also taught, contributing to body image.

Comprehensive sex education also encourages dignity and respect for everyone, no matter their

gender identity or sexual orientation. A students sexual health also has an effect on their academic

success. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that students who do

not engage in health risk behaviors receive higher grades than students who do engage in health

risk behaviors claims Future of Sex Ed, also mentioning the effects of unintended pregnancies

and health-related problems contributing to absenteeism and dropping out.

 In 2016, sex education was a requirement in only twenty-two US states, while in European

countries it was mandatory. Taylor Bell, a writer on ATTN, points out two specific European

countries, The Netherlands and Denmark, and their industrializing methods of teaching sex

education. Bell writes The Netherlands educate children as young as four about sex. This doesnt

mean children have explicit conversations about the birds and the bees. Rather, children learn how

to form relationships and to discuss sexuality. She also talks about Denmark and their integration

of pornography into their curriculum. Although it may be questionable, the system has been

successful in promoting the practice of safe sex to the point of the nations birth rate falling below

the replacement rate needed to maintain a stable population. Jules Suzdaltsev talks about her

friend from Germany, who learned about sex at eight years old from a picture book in school.

German schools teach several different aspects revolving around sex, such as the biology of

reproduction, proper contraception, and even how to reach an orgasm. Countries such as

Scandinavia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland have shown teaching sex education as early

as preschool, continuing through high school. Higher level sex education even includes graphic

videos explaining how to properly masturbate. Sexual consent, navigating relationships, and

communication are emphasized in the sex education curriculum in countries like Switzerland,

Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, France, and Luxembourg.

Comprehensive sex education can improve the high rates of STI transmission and

unwanted and teen pregnancies substantially. Abstinence-only education has evidence-based facts

proving it is not effective in reducing pregnancy rates, and compared to comprehensive sex

education is more damaging than it is beneficial to a teenagers sexual health. Proper sex education

has a positive effect on students and teenagers in several ways, such as their general health, body

image, and even their grades. Teaching comprehensive sex education has also proven more
efficient and effective in other countries, as absurd as some of their methods may seem to

Americans. Overall, I propose that the US begin using a comprehensive sex education program,

and cease the abstinence-only educating to help improve the health, awareness, and future of the

American youth.
BIOGRAPHY
BIOGRAPHY

Bell, Taylor. Sex Ed in Europe Is Exactly the Opposite of What You Got in America. ATTN:
ATTN: 4 Apr. 2016, www.attn.com/stories/7020/sex-education-europe-compared-to-
united-states.
Bridges, Emily, and Debra Hauser. Youth Health and Rights in Sex Education.
Futureofsexed.org, Future of Sex Ed, May 2014,
www.futureofsexed.org/youthhealthrights.html.
HRF. 20 Abstinence Only Sex Education Statistics. HRFnd, Health Research Funding, 9 Oct.
2014, healthresearchfunding.org/20-abstinence-sex-education-statistics/.
McKeon, Brigid. Effective Sex Education. Advocatesforyouth.org, Advocates for Youth, 2006,
www.advocatesforyouth.org/component/content/article/450-effective-sex-education.
SLTRIB. Editorial: Weak Sex Education Doesn't Give Utah Kids Better
Judgment.Http://Archive.sltrib.com, Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Feb. 2017,
archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4942636&itype=CMSID.
Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F., and David14 W. Hall. Abstinence-Only Education and Teen
Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S. PLoS ONE,
Public Library of Science, 14 Oct. 2011,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194801/.
Suzdaltsev, Jules. What Students in Europe Learn That Americans Don't. Vice, Vice, 16 Mar.
2016, www.vice.com/en_us/article/3b48d3/what-students-in-europe-learn-that
americans-dont.