Sex Education and Unprotected Sex

Many teens in this century are not aware of the many risks of unprotected sex. What defines an adequate sexual education? A sufficient sexual education should define sexual intercourse in its entirety. It should go into extensive detail about how it happens, when it happens, why it happens. It cannot always be avoided. Students should be aware of what to do in these situations. The courses should teach students about the results of sex. What happens when people do have protected or unprotected sex? It should then go into all the STD’s, risks, and consequences of these choices.

Currently, there is only one federally funded program for sexual education for school aged children. That program is known as the abstinence only until marriage education. This was started by the Reagan administration in the late 1980s. It teaches students what to do if they are only taking the abstinence till marriage road in life. Rape, harassment, and sexual assault victims are often excluded or forgotten when discussing abstinence. There is funding for abstinence only until marriage education but is it not effective and hasn’t been since 1990. The federal government should allow funds for sexual education courses and obliterate abstinence only funding programs.

Allowing a budget for sexual education would benefit schools in many aspects. In 1981, the federal government began pouring money into abstinence only funding. Under the Reagan administration this funding grew immensely. From the 1990s to the early 2000s funding increased dramatically for abstinence only until marriage. During the George W. Bush administration, it raised its highest funding. From 2006 through about 2009, the funding remained constant with no major increases or decreases. However, in 2010 the funding condensed.

Over this time, one and a half billion worth of taxpayers’ dollars were invested. If the money from the abstinence only funding is redirected into a new fund for new sexual education programs it may save millions. Nothing will be lost in the process since the programs already in place have some sort of funding. Since it is a program that will be taught in schools, it can be looked at as part of the curriculum. Students will not have to pay for information and material they have the right to learn.

Also, parents will not have to pay extra just for the sufficient education for their child. Funding these programs with grants from the government would be benificial. The government should fund these services completely since they are vital. Funding from the government will boost the efforts to spread the programs nationally. It will be the goal that all children across the world receive a complete sexual education.

The abstinence only until marriage program has proven to be ineffective because the rate of pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases in teens and young adults are increasing. According to the centers for disease control and prevention, there has been a increase in the amount of cases reported to them regarding sexually transmitted diseases then has ever been before in the United States. The centers for disease control and prevention release a STD surveillance report each year. Diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are the three most common reported diseases.

As stated by the report, these three diseases have increased the most between 2014 and 2015. This is the highest it’s ever been. It also states that syphilis cases arose by 19%, gonorrhea cases arose by 12.8%, and chlamydia cases arose by 5.9%. Although these diseases are curable, they are highly contagious and spread very easily. Most cases of sexually transmitted diseases go untreated. “”We have reached a decisive moment for the nation,”” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, said in awritten statement(PDF). “”STD rates are rising, and many of the countries systems for preventing STDs have eroded,”” he said. “”We must mobilize, rebuild and expand services — or the human and economic burden will continue to grow.”” Information on other diseases such as HPV, herpes, and trichomoniasis isn’t included but they are also steadily increasing.

HIV is also not included but is also on the rise. In 2016, there were more than one and a half million cases of chlamydia reported and 400,000 cases of gonorrhea reported. This disease causes severe damage to a woman’s reproductive system if its untreated. In rare cases, it may cause death. The individuals who are most at risk are school age. 15 to 24-year old’s make up more than two thirds of the all the reported cases of chlamydia and half of the gonorrhea cases.

Gonorrhea is becoming more and more difficult to treat as the bacteria which causes the disease has grown resistance to the antibiotics used to treat it. All in all, young adults and bisexual and homosexual men have the highest chance of contracting these diseases. Fifteen to twenty-four year old’s made up more than half of the 20 million cases reported each year.

Planned Parenthood is an effective program that just needs funding. It is already the largest provider of sexual education in America. Its services provide millions every year. More than half of these services are for children of the school age. However, with the help of funding from the government it could reach millions more. Planned Parenthood’s sexual education teaches many topics such as human development.

This includes information on reproduction, puberty, sexual orientation and gender identity. It also includes material on relationships with friends, family, romantic partners and dating. Furthermore, it teaches about personal skills like communication, negotiation, and decision making. Sexual behavior and health are also taught in the courses. It is vital that students are aware of all material under these topics such as abstinence, sexuality in life, sexually transmitted diseases, contraception and pregnancy.

Factual information on society and culture is also included. It teaches gender roles, diversity, and sexuality in the media. Planned Parenthood has many associates that also provide sexual education material such as SIECUS and FoSE. SIECUS stands for Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States and FoSE stands for Future of Sex Education Initiative. These two programs provide guidelines for complete sexuality education and a national discussion about the future of sex education. They also encourage sexuality education in schools just as Planned Parenthood does. SIECUS offers an outline of the essential theories, topics, and memos that all sexuality education platforms should incorporate.

FoSE created the National Teacher Preparation Standards, National Sexuality Education Standards, and many extra resources to support inclusive sexuality. Some programs Planned Parenthood correspondingly provides are peer education, Parent/Family Education, and LGBTQ-focused. Training of professionals, educators, school staff, community, and faith based leaders is also included. They also provide Outreach and Single Session Workshops.

Many parents believe their children should not be exposed to such material at a certain age. The raw uncut material the schools will provide may be too much for certain students. It may make many students feel uncomfortable. Some parents believe if they choose to teach their children about sex themselves it may make the child learn better. They also believe schools teach students about certain sexual activities to young.

SIECUS, which stands for sexuality information and education council of the United States, and Planned Parenthood, are currently the central powers behind the sexual education in schools. Its said they teach students from 5 to 8 years old about masturbation and students 9 to 12 years old about mutual masturbation and oral sex. It is also stated they teach high school students about numerous methods of sexual activity. Several parents may believe this starts too young. It may give children ideas or tell them that it is okay at a certain age when its not.

Although many parents believe their children should not be exposed to such material at this age, being knowledgeable about STD’s, risks, and consequences is very important. Many parents who chose to educate their children on the risks themselves aren’t fully informed. Students should be aware of what happens when they are put into certain predicaments. Parents cannot properly educate students on the rape or sexual harassment with the appropriate material.

Schools have the opportunity to provide this content with the help of a federal fund dedicated to sexual education. Schools provide letters to the parents of students who partake in the sexual education courses. In the letters it states to inform the school administrators if you choose to have your child excused from the lesson. This is a very effective way to incorporate parents into the lectures. If the parent chooses to have their child excused it could potentially hurt them. It is important to be present for the vital lessons taught by certified professionals.

This is to ensure the child receives the appropriate and adequate material for their age level. Some parents may not be prepared to teach and may make mistakes when choosing what their child should know at a certain age. The idea of teaching children while they’re young is in many ways dynamic. The goal is not to teach children about this at young ages, it is to expose them to what they may encounter. The material has been reviewed by professionals and has been affective where it is used.

In conclusion, there should be federal funds for sexual education other than abstinence only until marriage because of the many benefits schools will receive, the high rates of STD’s in the United States today, and planned parent is already in place it just requires funding. Although many parents believe their children shouldn’t be exposed to such material it is important for students to be aware of the risks and consequences of their decisions or of others choices that may affect them. We, meaning the children of America, will only benefit from the addition to their education. Many students will be prepared for events that actually happen. They will know exactly what to do if ever put into situation an adequate sexual education will explain. Planned Parenthood has done and should receive the funds to continue to do their job.

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