Israel ( = 1),
Canada ( = 6),
Australia ( = 3),
New Zealand ( = 1),
The Netherlands ( = 2)
Kenya ( = 1),
Mexico ( = 2),
South Africa ( = 1),
Ireland ( = 2),
South Korea ( = 1),
China ( = 1), Holland ( = 1)
U.K ( = 1), Europe ( = 2).
Characteristics and main results of the studies included.
Chokprajakchad et al. (2018) | To describe and analyze methodological and substantive features of research on interventions to delay the initiation of sexual intercourse and prevent other sexual risk behaviors among early adolescents. | 10–13 years | 14 studies used randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 16 used quasi-experimental designs and three used a pre-test, post-test design. | (a) Adolescent sexual behavior. (b) Initiation of sexual activity. (c) Condom use and other. Contraceptive use. (a) Adolescents’ attitudes. (b) Self-efficacy. (c) Intentions related to sexual behavior. | |
Goldfarb et al. (2020) | To find evidence for the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education in school-based programs. | 3–18 years | Randomized controlled trial (RCTs), quasi-experimental, and pre- and post-test. | Homophobia, homophobic bullying, understanding of gender/gender norms, recognition of gender equity, rights, and social justice. Knowledge and attitudes about, and reporting of, DV and IPV; DV and IPV perpetration and victimization; bystander, intentions and behaviors. Knowledge, attitudes, and skills and intentions. Knowledge, attitudes, skills and social-emotional outcomes related to personal safety and touch. Social emotional learning. Media literacy. | |
Haberland et al. (2016) | Evaluation of behavior-change interventions to prevent HIV, STIs or unintended pregnancy to analyze whether addressing gender and power in sexuality education curricula is associated with better outcomes. | Adolescents under 19 years | Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) or quasi-experimental. | (a) STIs. (b) HIV. (c) Pregnancy. (d) Childbearing. | |
Kedzior et al. (2020) | Determine the impact of school-based programs that promote social connectedness on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. | 10–19 years | Randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled trials (including quasi), controlled before-after (pre-/post-) interrupted time series, and program evaluations. Program evaluation without a control group were eligible if they reported on outcomes pre- and post- program implementation. | (a) Contraception use. (b) Intercourse (frequency or another outcome as defined by authors). (c) Risk of adolescent pregnancy and birth. (d) Rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs). (e) Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about sex and reproductive health. (f) Autonomy. (g) Connectedness. | |
Lopez et al. (2016) | To identify school-based interventions that improved contraceptive use among adolescents. | 19 years or younger | Randomized controlled trials (RCTs). (Of 11 trials, 10 were cluster randomized). | (a) Pregnancy (six months or more after the intervention began). (b) Contraceptive use (three months or more after the intervention began). (a) Knowledge of contraceptive effectiveness or effective method use. (b) Attitude about contraception or a specific contraceptive method. | |
Marseille et al. (2018) | To evaluate the effectiveness of school-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in the USA. | 10–19 years | Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (10 studies) and non-RCTs (11 studies) with comparator groups were eligible yielded 30 unique pooled comparisons for pregnancy. | Pregnancy. (a) Sexual Initiation. (b) Condom Use. (c) Oral Contraception Pill Use. | |
Mason-Jones et al. (2016) | To evaluate the effects of school-based sexual and reproductive health programs on sexually transmitted infections (such as HIV, herpes simplex virus, and syphilis), and pregnancy among adolescents. | 10–19 years | Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) (both individually randomized and cluster-randomized included 8 cluster-RCTs). | (a) HIV prevalence. (b) STI prevalence. (c) Pregnancy prevalence. (a) Use of male condoms at first sex. (b) Use of male condoms at most recent (last) sex. (c) Initiation (sexual debut). | |
Mirzazadeh et al. (2018) | To evaluate the effectiveness of school-based programs prevent HIV and other sexually Transmitted Infections in adolescents in the USA. | 10–19 years | Three RCTs and six non-RCTs describing seven interventions. | (a) HIV/STI incidence or prevalence. (b) HIV/STI testing. (a) Frequency of intercourse. (b) Number of partners. (c) Initiation of sexual intercourse. (d) Sex without a condom. (e) HIV/STI knowledge, attitude, and behavior. | |
Oringanje et al. (2016) | To assess the effects of primary prevention interventions (school-based, community/home-based, clinic-based, and faith-based) on unintended pregnancies among adolescents. | 10–19 years | 53 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) comparing these interventions to various control groups (mostly usual standard sex education offered by schools). | (a) Unintended pregnancy. (a) Reported changes in knowledge and attitudes about the risk of unintended pregnancies. (b) Initiation of sexual intercourse. (c) Use of birth control methods. (d) Abortion. (e) Childbirth. (f) Morbidity related to pregnancy, abortion or child birth. (g) Mortality related to pregnancy, abortion or childbirth. (h) Sexually transmitted infections (including HIV). | |
Peterson et al. (2019) | To examine whether interventions, addressing school-level environment or student-level educational assets, can promote young people’s sexual health. | 10–19 years | Randomized trial or quasi experimental design, in which control groups received usual treatment or a comparison intervention, and they must have reported at least one sexual health outcome, such as pregnancy, STDs or sexual behaviors associated with increased risk of pregnancy or STDs. | (a) Knowledge. (b) Attitudes. (c) Skills. (d) Services related to sexual health. | |
Bailey et al. (2015) | To summarize evidence on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and mechanism of action of interactive digital interventions (IDIs) for sexual health; optimal practice for intervention development; contexts for successful implementation; research methods for digital intervention evaluation; and the future potential of sexual health promotion via digital media. | 12–19 years | Randomized controlled trials (RCTs). | (a) Sexual health knowledge. (b) Self-efficacy. (c) Intention/motivation. (d) Sexual behavior and biological. | |
Celik et al. (2020) | To determine the effect of technology-based programmes in changing adolescent health behaviors. | 10–24 years | Randomized control group. | Adolescents’ health-promoting behaviors: pregnancy, HIV/disease-related knowledge, condom use, condom intentions, condom skills, self-efficacy, and related infectious diseases risk behavior. | |
Desmet et al. (2015) | To analyze the effectiveness of interventions for sexual health promotion that use serious digital games. | 13–29 years | Randomized control group, and randomized on an individual. | Behavior, knowledge, behavioral intention, perceived environmental constraints, skills, attitudes, subjective norm, and self-efficacy. Clinical effects (e.g., rates of sexually transmitted infections). | |
Holstrom (2015) | To draw a more comprehensive picture of how online sexual health interventions do and do not align with real world habits and interests of adolescents. | 10–24 years | Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and focus groups participants. | (a) Sexual Health information. (b) What topics they want to know about. (c) Evaluations of Internet-based sexual health interventions. | |
L’Engle et al. (2016) | To assess strategies, findings, and quality of evidence on using mobile phones to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH). | 13–24 years | Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental, observational, or descriptive research. | (a) Promote positive and preventive SRH behaviors. (b) Increase adoption and continuation of contraception. (c) Support medication adherence for HIV-positive young people. (d) Encourage use of health screening and treatment services. | |
Martin et al. (2020) | To describe existing published studies on online participatory intervention methods used to promote the sexual health of adolescents and young adults. | 10–24 years | 16 Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), 15 Control group (NI = 2), 4 Information-only control website, 7 Before-after study (no RCT), 3 Cross-sectional study, 8 other design, 3 Unspecified. | Acceptability, Attractiveness, Feasibility, Satisfaction and Implementation. Behaviors. Condom use, condom use intention, self-efficacy toward condom use, and attitude toward condom use attitudes. Communication. Knowledge. Behavioral skills. Self-efficacy. Contraception use. History of sexually transmitted infections. HIV stigma. HIV test history (date and result of the last test). Incidence of sexually transmitted infections. Intentions related to risky sexual activity. Internalized homophobia. Intimate partner violence. Motivation. Pubertal development. Sexual abstinence. Waiting before having sex. | = 23) |
Palmer et al. (2020) | To assess the effects of targeted client communication via delivered via mobile devices on adolescents’ knowledge, and on adolescents’ and adults’ sexual and reproductive health behavior, health service use, and health and well-being. | 10 -24 years | Randomized controlled trials (RCTs). | • STI/HIV prevention. • STI/HIV treatment. • Contraception/family planning. • Pre-conception care. • Partner violence. • STI/HIV prevention/treatment. • Contraception/family planning. • HPV vaccination. • Cervical screening. • Pre-conception care. • Use of services designed for those who have experienced partner violence. • STI/HIV prevention. • STI/HIV treatment. • Contraception/family planning. • Partner violence. • Well-being. • STI prevention and/or treatment. • Contraception/family planning. • Cervical cancer screening. • Sexual violence. • HPV vaccination. • Puberty. •Patient/client acceptability and satisfaction with the intervention. •Resource use, including cost to the system and unintended consequences. | |
Wadham et al. (2019) | To assess the effectiveness of sexual health interventions delivered via new digital media to young people. | 12–24 years | Randomized to a control group and pre-/post-test evaluation design, uncontrolled longitudinal studies and the remaining studies comprised a mixture of qualitative cohort, observational and mixed methods. | (a) Behavior (number of sexual partners, number of unprotected sexual acts, frequency of condom use, negotiation skills for condom use, sex under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, testing seeking behavior). (b) Self-efficacy (condom use). (c) Skills and Abilities (sexual communication and risk assessment). (d) Intentions (to use condoms). (e) Attitudes. (f) Knowledge (HIV, STI, general sexual health). (g) Efficacy of the Intervention (feasibility, acceptability, usability, satisfaction). (h) Well-being (mental health, sexuality, self-acceptance). | |
Widman et al. (2018) | To synthesize the technology-based sexual health interventions among youth people to determine their overall efficacy on two key behavioral outcomes: condom use and abstinence. | 13–24 years | Randomized to a control group and experimental or quasi-experimental design. | (a) Condom use (b) Abstinence. (a) Safer sex attitudes. (b) Social norms for safer sexual activity. (c) self-efficacy. (d) Behavioral intentions to practice safer sex. (e) Sexual health knowledge. | < 0.001) and abstinence (d = 0.21, 95% CI [0.02, 0.40], p = 0.027). < 0.001), safer sex norms (d = 0.15, = 0.022), and attitudes (d = 0.12, = 0.016) |
Coyle et al. (2019) | To identify sexual health education studies using blended learning to summarize the best practices and potential challenges. | 13–24 years, and adults of over 25 | Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs). | (a) Initiation of sexual intercourse (vaginal, oral or anal intercourse). (b) Other sexual risk behaviors (condom use, communication, condom use skills, frequency of sex, unprotected sex, number of partners with whom had sex without protection, frequency of using alcohol and or other substances during sex). (c) Sexual coercion or dating violence (sexual coercion, dating violence). (d) Sexuality-related psychosocial factors (attitudes, beliefs, perceptions regarding abstinence, and protection). (e) Perceived satisfaction and usability (of blended learning). |
Evaluation of the studies included (AMSTAR II).
School | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Authors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Overall Rating |
Chokprajakchad et al. (2018) | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | Y | NM | N | CL |
Goldfarb et al. (2020) | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Partial Y | Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | Y | NM | Y | CL |
Haberland et al. (2016) | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Partial Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | Y | NM | N | CL |
Kedzior et al. (2020) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Partial Y | Y | Y | N | NM | NM | Y | Y | NM | Y | M |
Lopez et al. (2016) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NM | NM | Y | Y | NM | Y | H |
Marseille et al. (2018) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | H |
Mason-Jones et al. (2016) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | H |
Mirzazadeh et al. (2018) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | H |
Oringanje et al. (2016) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | NM | NM | Y | Y | NM | Y | H |
Peterson et al. (2019) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | L |
Bailey et al. (2015) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | L |
Celik et al. (2020) | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | Y | NM | Y | CL |
DeSmet et al. (2015) | Y | Partial Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Partial Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | CL |
Holstrom (2015) | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | N | NM | N | CL |
L´Engle et al. (2016) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Partial Y | Partial Y | N | Y | NM | NM | N | Y | NM | Y | CL |
Martin et al. (2020) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | Y | NM | Y | CL |
Palmer et al. (2020) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | H |
Wadham et al. (2019) | N | Y | Y | Y | Partial Y | Partial Y | N | Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | N | NM | Y | CL |
Widman et al. (2018) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Partial Y | Partial Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | L |
Coyle et al. (2019) | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | NM | NM | N | Y | NM | N | CL |
1 1. Did the research questions and inclusion criteria for the review include the components of PCIO?; 2. Did the report of the review contain an explicit statement that the review methods were established prior to the conduct of the review and did the report justify any significant deviations from the protocol?; 3. Did the review authors explain their selection of the study designs for inclusion in the review?; 4. Did the review authors use a comprehensive literature search strategy?; 5. Did the review authors perform study selection in duplicate?; 6. Did the review authors perform data extraction in duplicate?; 7. Did the review authors provide a list of excluded studies and justify the exclusions?; 8. Did the review authors describe the included studies in adequate detail?; 9. Did the review authors use a satisfactory technique for assessing the risk of bias (RoB) in individual studies that were included in the review?; 10. Did the review authors report on the sources of funding for the studies included in the review?; 11. If meta-analysis was performed, did the review authors use appropriate methods for statistical combination of results?; 12. If meta-analysis was performed, did the review authors assess the potential impact of RoB in individual studies on the results of the meta-analysis or other evidence synthesis?; 13. Did the review authors account for RoB in primary studies when interpreting/discussing the results of the review?; 14. Did the review authors provide a satisfactory explanation for, and discussion of, any heterogeneity observed in the results of the review?; 15. If they performed quantitative synthesis did the review authors carry out an adequate investigation of publication bias (small study bias) and discuss its likely impact on the results of the review?; 16. Did the review authors report any potential sources of conflict of interest, including any funding they received for conducting the review? 2 H = Hight; M = Media; C = Low; CL = Critically Low. N = No; Y = Yes.
Conceptualization, M.L.-F. and R.M.-R.; methodology, M.L.-F.; R.M.-R.; Y.R.-C. and M.V.C.-F.; formal analysis, M.L.-F.; R.M.-R.; Y.R.-C. and M.V.C.-F.; investigation, M.L.-F.; R.M.-R.; Y.R.-C. and M.V.C.-F.; writing—original draft preparation, M.L.-F. and R.M.-R.; writing—review and editing, M.L.-F.; R.M.-R., and Y.R.-C. and.; supervision, M.L.-F.; R.M.-R.; Y.R.-C. and M.V.C.-F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
This research received no external funding.
Not applicable.
Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Sexual education has an integral role in removing one’s doubts on sexuality and sex related topics. It has often been identified that sexual education helps one to get a clear picture of the male and female sexuality. The sexual counseling and orientation class that I received was really effective in taking away the veil of sexual illiteracy and it enabled me to understand what human sexuality is. Regarding my personal experience with the class, I can identify it as one of the most effective classes which I ever attended and it helped me in changing my concepts about sex. As it was a class that covered almost all the sections of sexuality, the participants got the opportunity in properly identifying and clarifying their doubts on this topic. It was effective to get a clear picture of sexually-transmitted diseases and their evil effects on mankind. The proposed paper is an attempt to explore what sexuality is and the misconceptions of individuals about sexuality, based on personal experience of attending an orientation class on sexuality.
Researchers show their willingness to reach the conclusion that misconceptions and vague beliefs about sexuality contribute severe physical and mental disorder and behavioral problems. Various studies prove that effective orientation courses and sex education programs help to solve sexual problems and permit a person to mould a desired outcome in a person’s sexual life. The course promotes enormous knowledge and scientific information about sexuality in adolescence. In case of an adolescent, physical and mental changes affect seriously. In case of a male, biological changes such as puberty, growth of sexual organs and sexual attractions towards opposite sex are very common. In my own personal opinion the orientation course helped me to create scientific notions about sexual difficulties and sex-related diseases. The course helped me to deal sex as something serious and responsible phenomena in a person’s life. The web article entitled Sexual Difficulties remarks that; “Sexual difficulties belong to the group of conditions known as psychosomatic disorders, in which the body expresses the distress via a symptom, such as low libido.” ( Sexual Difficulties, p. 1).
Adolescent period is the most crucial time in a person’s life and the detailed description by the course person gives new knowledge about the behavioral changes and disorder problems. Both male and female suffer from lack of love, consideration, respect and proper interaction. Like other people, I also have some vague concepts about sexual changes and psychological impacts on a person’s life. After the orientation course I could understand more about male and female anatomy and their psychological impacts. Through the course I have got an opportunity to comprehend the term gender problem. Effective interaction between the course person and the listeners reduced the complications of the topic and it enabled me to admit sex is not only a means of enjoyment and merrymaking but a vital part of the process of human growth.
Like any other student, I was also not an exception and I had kept a false illusion over sexuality. One of the prominent lessons that I learned during the classes was about the gender issues. As I am one of the members of the male chauvinist society, I had formed my concept of sexuality with male possessing dominance. These classes planted in me the seeds that sexuality is a positive and healthy experience in which man and woman have equal roles. It was the class that cultivated in me the due respect to my opposite sex and I began to regard them equal to me. Understanding of female and male sexual anatomy and physiology helped realizing the genital change and growth in male and female. The transitional period of male and female from adolescence to youthhood is always problematic to children that their ignorance often leads them to mental and physical disorders. Some of the studies have identified children becoming depressed caused with the lack of sexual education. But it is possible for one to say that sexual education is always effective. The words of Dr. D Kirby, et al. make clear this fact when they rightly comment thus, “…there can also be many negative consequences of adolescent sexual behavior.”(Kirby, et al ). Now I am capable of recognizing the real physiological problems of children. I have also understood the ill-effects of prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases.
The course which I attended says how the relationship between partners can make a stronger one. They are of the opinion that if the partners build up a good communication with each other along with a good sexual relationship they can lead their life happily. While going through this class I realized that it is only by making a deep communication I can make my family relationship an ardent one. In the relationship with my partner I find some dissatisfaction because we are not always sharing our likes and dislikes. I think it is because of this there is a great gap between us. Now there is no good relationship between us because there is no deep communication between us. But after attending this class I understood about the relationship between the male and female sexual anatomy and how deep love and communication can help to make a good relation with my partner. I also got a good idea about sexually-transmitted diseases and what all difficulties will be there in the sexual relationship and by hearing the solutions I tried to change my attitudes toward my partner. Earlier I was not concerned about my partner’s wish or difficulties but now I care my partner and I try to understand the difficulties which my partner faces and in the coming days I will take care to make our relationship a success. I understood from the class that if there is a true love between partners and if they try to understand each other one can make their life a fruitful one.
The course gave a lot of valuable information about how to lead a happy and peaceful married life and what are the ways to attain such perfection. The course mainly focused on to have an understanding about the good and bad effects of keeping a sexual relation. The course gave comfortable contents which every one can put into practice. First of all the good content I consider is keeping a deep love and communication between the partners. This information is enough to lead a happy life, because if these two are put into practice there will be no clash and quarrel between the partners in sexual matter. For instance if one does not reveal his or her dissatisfaction about the manner of the partner in sexual relation, it will make a silent pain in the mind of the dissatisfied person and this will lead the person to be in a great hatred to his or her partner and thereby the relation too. So there should be a healthy communication and a kind of ardent love between the partners to avoid such hatred and other similar situations. The other comfortable content I found in the course is the description and discussion of male and female anatomy and physiology as it helps both the partners to understand every likes and dislikes of the other and can mingle with the other in an appropriate way. The discussion about sexual difficulties and solutions are also comfortable as it is highly favorable to know the causes of such difficulties and also the methods to solve those problems. The most important content I found in the course is the discussion about sexually transmitted diseases as it will create awareness among the people who keep different relations. So it will play a crucial role to change such attitudes and thereby the relation. These are the comfortable contents that I found in the course and are valuable to lead a better life.
Male and female anatomy and physiological features constituted more important knowledge for me. Each male and female has his/her own physical and genetic features. Comparing the physical changes of female in adulthood, female development is too fast and noticeable. I think one of the most valuable one is that the course provided proper awareness about inevitable relationship between physical growth and psychological changes. The given information helped me to know more about the structure of both male and female physical organs, especially the various changes of genital organs and their biological functions. The knowledge about opposite sex enabled me to respect persons from opposite sex. Childhood sexuality and its significance in development process were highly thought-provoking areas of the discussion. Genetic abnormalities and various sexual diseases are not familiar topics for me. Jane Coad and Melvyn Dunstall write “There are genetic conditions that result in a range of variable sexual development, such as Klinefelter’s syndrome and Turner’s syndrome.” (Coad, and Dunstall, p. 100). The course and orientation programs were helpful to number of people who have only some vague knowledge about personal sexuality.
To conclude, one can infer that there should be attempts to educate children on sexuality and the human body. From my personal experience of attending the class on sexuality, I have understood the importance of sexual education as it helps students to understand persons of their opposite sex. Proper understanding of male and female anatomy and physiological features is important in one’s life. Attending such classes remind one about the significance of a healthy sexual relation and its role in promoting better life situations. Scientific information about sexuality and the transition in the adolescent period also assumes significance. Male biological changes such as, puberty, growth of sexual organs and their sexual attraction to their opposite sex are quite common and if one is totally ignorant of these facts he/she may face some mental stress or in some cases it may lead to mental depression. Regarding sexual relation in married life, one can see that sex and sexual satisfaction have integral roles. Failure in understanding his/her pair in sexual relationship often leads to the ruin of family relationships. So, one is sure of the fact that sexual education has an elite role in one’s life. Proper sexual education should be given to children to avoid sexual illiteracy and sexual crimes.
IvyPanda. (2021, November 14). The Importance of Sexual Education. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-importance-of-sexual-education/
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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Sex Education — Persuasive Essay: Should Schools Teach Sexual Education
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Lee V. Gaines
Elizabeth Miller
A class of fifth-graders are sitting through an hour-long sex-ed lesson at Louis B. Russell Jr. School 48 in Indianapolis. Some fidget, others giggle. And they have a lot of questions.
How old do you have to be to start using tampons?
What's acne?
It's April, and sex ed teacher Haileigh Huggins does her best to answer them all.
One boy asks, "Can boys have babies?"
"No, they cannot get pregnant," she tells him.
"Because they both would have sperm cells right? There wouldn't be an egg cell."
Huggins is trained to teach age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education. But she only has an hour with these students — and that's just enough time to cover the basics, like puberty and reproduction.
When most people think of sex ed, those are the lessons that often come to mind. But comprehensive sex ed goes beyond that. It's defined by sex ed advocates as a science-based, culturally and age-appropriate set of lessons that start in early grades and go through the end of high school. It covers sexuality, human development, sexual orientation and gender, bodily autonomy and consent, as well as relationship skills and media literacy.
With abortion access changing in many states, advocates for comprehensive sex ed say it's more important than ever. But, like so many things related to schools, sex education is highly politicized.
Only three states require schools to teach age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education: Washington, California and Oregon. That's according to SEICUS, a group that advocates for progressive sex education policies. In other states, what students learn about sex ed depends on what school leaders choose to teach.
How one author is aspiring to make sex education more relatable for today's kids.
And yet, research shows these lessons can lead to better health outcomes for students.
"The major finding of the research is that comprehensive sex education scaffolded across grades, embedded in supportive school environments and across subject areas, can improve sexual, social and emotional health, as well as academic outcomes for young people," says Eva Goldfarb, a researcher at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She is co-author of a 2020 paper on the topic.
"Even though it may seem like sex education is controversial, it absolutely is not," says Nora Gelperin, director of sex education and training at Advocates for Youth — an organization that promotes access to comprehensive sex education.
She says comprehensive sex ed is "always in the best interest of young people."
Here's what it looks like, for different age levels from grades K-12:
Age-appropriate sex ed for kindergartners introduces topics like consent, identifying who is in your family and the correct names for body parts.
"When we're talking about consent with kindergartners, that means getting permission before you touch someone else; asking if it's OK if you borrow somebody's toy or pencil or game, so that kids start to learn about personal boundaries and consent in really age- and developmentally appropriate ways," says Gelperin, who was part of a team that released the first national sex education standards in 2012.
Gelperin loves to use hula hoops to teach young kids about bodily autonomy: Each student gets one, and is instructed to ask for permission to go inside someone else's hula hoop. The hoops are an analogy for boundaries.
"If someone is touching you inside your boundary in a way that makes you uncomfortable, it's OK to say no and talk to a trusted adult," Gelperin tells students.
Another good lesson for younger children is how to identify those trusted adults. Mariotta Gary-Smith, a sex ed instructor based in Oregon, asks students to write a list of people they trust in their communities: "People that you know care about you, people who are accessible to you, people who could support you."
The list can include peers, immediate and extended family members or chosen family members. Then Gary-Smith, who co-founded the Women of Color Sexual Health Network, asks students to think about how they would talk to the people on their list about safety, respect and boundaries.
"When they knew that they had trust and safety in their circle, they felt like they could express themselves without judgment," she explains.
As students head into third grade, Gelperin says they should start learning the characteristics of healthy relationships with friends and family.
"Sometimes there's teasing and bullying that's going on in those grade levels. So you want to talk about how to interrupt teasing and bullying and how to stand up for others that may be getting teased or bullied," she explains.
There should also be a focus on respecting others' differences, including different family makeups, cultural backgrounds and faith traditions.
Gelperin says lessons on consent should continue throughout elementary school. And she recommends lessons on puberty begin in fourth grade, because that's when some students begin to see and experience changes in their bodies.
As students transition from elementary school to middle school, they should learn about the details of reproduction, including biological terms and why some people menstruate while others create sperm.
"That for me is a real hallmark of middle school sex education, is kind of really starting to understand how those parts and systems work together for reproduction," Gelperin says.
It's also a good time to connect the physical effects of puberty and hormones with the feelings of attraction that come along with them.
"Who gives you butterflies in your stomach? Who makes your palm sweaty?" Gelperin says. "Because we know with puberty, one of the changes is experiencing new hormones that make us feel feelings of attraction often for other people in a new and different way."
Students should also learn about sexually transmitted infections, like HIV, and how they're transmitted.
And middle school is a good time to start learning about gender expression and sexual orientation, as well as gender stereotypes. One Advocates for Youth lesson includes a scavenger hunt homework assignment where students look for gender stereotypes in the world around them, like a sports ad that only features men or an ad for cleaning supplies that only features women.
Healthy relationships are a "hallmark" of comprehensive sex education, Gelperin says. As students move into high school, the conversation should expand from family and friends to partners and intimate relationships.
"What makes a relationship healthy? How do you know if a relationship is not healthy?" Gelperirn says.
Those conversations should also cover sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual assault.
At Mountainside High School in Beaverton, Ore., school health teacher Jenn Hicks shares statistics with students about the disproportionate rates of sexual violence for women, women of color and members of the LGBTQ communiity.
"Sexual violence can happen to anyone," she tells her class, "but it doesn't happen equally to everyone."
That leads to a conversation about consent.
"We have to talk about how we treat each other better, why consent is so important and why we need to listen to each other and protect each other," Hicks says. "Again, violence is used as a form of control to keep groups of people disempowered and fearful."
And then, of course, come the classic lessons of high school sex ed, about pregnancy, how to prevent sexually transmitted infections and how to use contraception – a lesson Gelperin says is especially important.
"We can't expect young people to know how to use condoms correctly unless we help them learn how to do that."
One classic method: bananas. Specifically, having students practice placing a condom on a banana, as one Advocates for Youth lesson recommends.
Finally, there are lessons that don't have anything to do with sex (or fruit) — like how to find credible sources of information.
Think about all the rumors about sex that can circulate in a high school – those rumors are also all over the internet. And for a kid looking for information, it can be hard to know what to believe.
"We're allowing children to learn what's out there, and they are," says sex ed researcher Lisa Lieberman, who co-authored that Montclair State University paper. "They are accessing pornography; they are accessing the internet. They are learning in ways that are not the message that most parents and schools want children to have."
Advocates for Youth recommends asking students to evaluate different sexual health websites, and identify the ones that are trustworthy.
For Hicks, the goal of all this is to give every student the tools they need to stay safe.
"It's recognizing everybody that's in the room and giving them the knowledge and skills to make the best possible decisions for themselves and to lead a happy, fulfilled life."
Mariotta Gary-Smith, with the Women of Color Sexual Health Network, says 10 years ago sex education wasn't culturally reflective or respectful to everyone, including to communities of color.
"The images that are used, that have been used historically ... you don't see bodies that are not white, able-bodied, cis, slender, slim," she explains. "You don't see or hear about young people who choose to parent if they become pregnant. You hear about teen pregnancy as this thing to be stopped, but not honoring that there are cultures and communities where young people who choose to parent are celebrated."
Gary-Smith has helped create more inclusive lessons through the Women of Color Sexual Health Network, and the sex ed standards Gelperin helped create in 2012 were updated in 2020 to include racism, inequality and their impact on sexual health. An Advocates for Youth lesson points students to examples of how racism has impacted the health and reproductive rights of low-income women of color, among other groups.
The national sex ed standards were also updated to touch on gender identity, sexual orientation, reproductive justice and sexually explicit media.
"It really allowed us to reflect the times in 2020 and what young people were saying was their lived experiences that they were so hungry to learn and talk about," Gelperin says.
Keeping sex ed inclusive and culturally reflective means teaching about systemic oppression, discrimination and the history and impacts of racism on certain communities, Gary-Smith explains. For example, a lesson on reproductive health might discuss historical examples of forced sterilization of Indigenous women or Black women, or the criminal justice system as it connects to family relationships.
These lessons may seem a far cry from those on consent or gender, and Gary-Smith understands that.
"Everything I'm talking about now, 10 years ago, we weren't talking about it," she explains.
That highlights one of the most important characteristics of sex ed for Gary-Smith: It should always be evolving.
"It needs to shift and change because things shift and change."
Lee Gaines is from member station WFYI, and Elizabeth Miller is from member station OPB. Nicole Cohen edited this story for broadcast and digital.
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As they grow up, young people face important decisions about relationships, sexuality, and sexual behavior. The decisions they make can impact their health and well-being for the rest of their lives. Young people have the right to lead healthy lives, and society has the responsibility to prepare youth by providing them with comprehensive sexual health education that gives them the tools they need to make healthy decisions. But it is not enough for programs to include discussions of abstinence and contraception to help young people avoid unintended pregnancy or disease. Comprehensive sexual health education must do more. It must provide young people with honest, age-appropriate information and skills necessary to help them take personal responsibility for their health and overall well being. This paper provides an overview of research on effective sex education, laws and policies that shape it, and how it can impact young people’s lives.
Sex education is the provision of information about bodily development, sex, sexuality, and relationships, along with skills-building to help young people communicate about and make informed decisions regarding sex and their sexual health. Sex education should occur throughout a student’s grade levels, with information appropriate to students’ development and cultural background. It should include information about puberty and reproduction, abstinence, contraception and condoms, relationships, sexual violence prevention, body image, gender identity and sexual orientation. It should be taught by trained teachers. Sex education should be informed by evidence of what works best to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, but it should also respect young people’s right to complete and honest information. Sex education should treat sexual development as a normal, natural part of human development.
Comprehensive sexual health education covers a range of topics throughout the student’s grade levels. Along with parental and community support, it can help young people:
Many students receive abstinence-only-until marriage programs instead of or in addition to more comprehensive programs. These programs:
Only one abstinence-only program has ever been proven effective at helping young people delay sex; yet in withholding information about contraception, it leaves those who do have sex completely at risk. Studies show that 99 percent of people will use contraception in their lifetimes,[20] and that the provision of information about contraception does not hasten the onset of sexual debut or increase sexual activity.[10] Meanwhile, thirty years of public health research clearly demonstrate that comprehensive sex education can help young people delay sexual initiation while also assisting them to use protection when they do become sexually active. We want young people to behave responsibly when it comes to decisions about sexual health, and that means society has the responsibility to provide them with honest, age-appropriate comprehensive sexual health education; access to services to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; and the resources to help them lead healthy lives.
All young people need comprehensive sexual health education, while others also need sexual health services. Youth at disproportionate risk for sexual health disparities may also need targeted interventions designed specifically to build self efficacy and agency. Further, administrators and other policy makers must recognize that structural determinants, socio-cultural factors and cultural norms have been shown to have a strong impact on youth sexual health and must be tackled to truly redress sexual health disparity fueled by social inequity.
Many factors help shape the content of a student’s sex education. These include:
With thousands of school districts around the nation, students’ experiences can vary drastically from district to district and school to school.
In the United States, education is largely a state and local responsibility, as dictated by the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This amendment states that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”[3] Because the Constitution doesn’t specifically mention education, the federal government does not have any direct authority regarding curriculum, instruction, administration, personnel, etc. In 1980, the U.S. Department of Education was created. While this move centralized federal efforts and responsibilities into one office, it did not come with an increase in federal jurisdiction over the educational system.
The U.S. Department of Education currently has no authority over sexual health education. However, there have been federal funds allocated, primarily through the Department of Health and Human Services that school systems and community-based agencies have used throughout the last three decades to provide various forms of sex education.[21]
In 2010, two streams of funding became available for evidence-based sex education interventions.[22]
In addition, in 2013, CDC/Division of School Health issued a request for proposals to fund State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Large Municipal Education Agencies (LEAs) to implement Exemplary Sexual Health Education (ESHE). ESHE is defined as a systematic, evidence-informed approach to sexual health education that includes the use of grade-specific, evidence-based interventions, but also emphasizes sequential learning across elementary, middle, and high school grade levels.[23]
States may accept PREP, TPPI, or Title V funds. Many states accept funds for both abstinence-only programs and evidence-based interventions. In 2013, 19 SEAs and 17 LEAs received five year cooperative agreements from CDC/DASH to implement ESHE within their school systems.[22]
Each state has a department of education headed by a chief state school officer, more commonly known as the Superintendent of Public Instruction or the Commissioner of Education (titles vary by state). State departments of education are generally responsible for disbursing state and federal funds to local school districts, setting parameters for the length of school day and year, teacher certification, testing requirements, graduation requirements, developing learning standards and promoting professional development. Generally, the chief state school officer is appointed by the Governor, though in a few states they are elected.[23]
State departments of education may also have Standards which provide benchmark measures that define what students should know and be able to do at specified grade levels. These sometimes, but not always, address sexual health education. For instance, Connecticut and New Jersey have standards similar to the National Sexuality Education Standards in place and which address reproduction, prevention of STIs and pregnancy, and healthy relationships. A number of other states have general health education standards which do not directly address sexual health, while others make mention of HIV/STI prevention and abstinence but don’t demand the most thorough instruction in sexual health.[24]
Local school boards are responsible for ensuring that each school in their district is in compliance with the laws and policies set by the state and federal government. Local school board also have broad decision and rule-making authority with regards to the operations of their local school district, including determining the school district budget and priorities; curriculum decisions such as the scope and sequence of classroom content in all subject areas; and textbook approval authority. [21]
Typically, school boards set the sex education policy for a school district. They must follow state law. Some school boards provide guidelines or standards, while others select specific curricula for schools to deliver. Most school boards are advised by School Health Advisory Councils (SHACs). SHAC members are individuals who represent the community and who provide advice about health education.[21]
There are a number of ways to help ensure that students get the information they need to live healthy lives, build healthy relationships, and take personal responsibility for their health and well being.
Young people have the right to lead healthy lives. As they develop, we want them to take more and more control of their lives so that as they get older, they can make important life decisions on their own. The balance between responsibility and rights is critical because it sets behavioral expectations and builds trust while providing young people with the knowledge, ability, and comfort to manage their sexual health throughout life in a thoughtful, empowered and responsible way. But responsibility is a two-way street. Society needs to provide young people with honest, age-appropriate information they need to live healthy lives, and build healthy relationships, and young people need to take personal responsibility for their health and well being. Advocates must also work to dismantle barriers to sexual health, including poverty and lack of access to health care.
Emily Bridges, MLS, and Debra Hauser, MPH
Advocates for Youth © May 2014
1. CDC. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 2011. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2012.
2. Finer LB et al., Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, 1994 and 2001, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(2):90–96.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2011. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2012.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2012. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2013.
5. Alford S, et al. Science and Success: Sex Education and Other Programs that Work to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV & Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Advocates for Youth, 2008;
6. Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Health Teen Relationships. Atlanta: Center for Disease Control and Prevention; 2013.
7. National Sexual Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12. A Special Publication of the Journal of School Health. 2012: 6-9. http://www.futureofsexed.org/documents/josh-fose-standards-web.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2013.
8. Davis A. Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence among Teens. National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2013 from http://www.nccdglobal.org/sites/default/files/publication_pdf/focus-dating-violence.pdf
9. Ybarra ML and Mitchell KJ. “Prevalence Rates of Male and Female Sexual Violence Perpetrators in a National Sample of Adolescents.” JAMA Pediatrics, December 2013.
10. Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. The 20011 National School Climate Survey: The School Related Experiences of Our Nation’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth. New York, NY: GLSEN, 2012.
11. CDC. Sexual Risk Behaviors and Academic Achievement. Atlanta, GA: CDC, (2010); http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/ health_and_academics/pdf/sexual_risk_behaviors.pdf; last accessed 5/23/2010. 12. Chin B et al. “The effectiveness of group-based comprehensive risk-reduction and abstinence education interventions to prevent or reduce the risk of adolescent pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus, and sexually transmitted infections: two systematic reviews for the Guide to Community Preventive Services.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, March 2012.
13. Kohler PK, Manhart LE, Lafferty WE. Abstinence-Only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007; 42(4): 344-351.
14. Stanger-Hall KF, Hall DW. “Abstinence-only education and teen pregnancy rates: why we need comprehensive sex education in the U.S.
15. National Sexual Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12. A Special Publication of the Journal of School Health. 2012: 6-9. http://www.futureofsexed.org/documents/josh-fose-standards-web.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2013.
16. National Sexual Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12. A Special Publication of the Journal of School Health. 2012: 6-9. http://www.futureofsexed.org/documents/josh-fose-standards-web.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2013.
17. Kirby D. Emerging Answers 2007. Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2007. 18. Office of Adolescent Health. “Evidence-Based Programs (31 Programs). Accessed March 5, 2014 from http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-initiatives/teen_pregnancy/db/programs.html
19. Public Religion Research Institute. Survey – Committed to Availability, Conflicted about Morality: What the Millennial Generation Tells Us about the Future of the Abortion Debate and the Culture Wars. 2011. Accessed from http://publicreligion.org/research/2011/06/committed-to-availability-conflicted-about-morality-what-the-millennial-generation-tells-us-about-the-future-of-the-abortion-debate-and-the-culture-wars/ on May 13, 2014.
20. Daniels K, Mosher WD and Jones J, Contraceptive methods women have ever used: United States, 1982–2010,National Health Statistics Reports, 2013, No. 62, <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr062.pdf>, accessed Mar. 20, 2013.
21. Future of Sex Education. “Public Education Primer. “ Accessed from http://www.futureofsexed.org/documents/public_education_primer.pdf on May 13, 2014.
22. Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, Siecus State Profiles, Fiscal Year 2012. Accessed from http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=1369 on May 13, 2014.
23. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “In Brief: Rationale for Exemplary Sexual Health Education (ESHE) for PS13-1308. Accessed from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/fundedpartners/1308/strategies/education.htm on May 13, 2014.
24. Answer. “State sex education policies by state.” Accessed from http://answer.rutgers.edu/page/state_policy/ on May 13, 2014.
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Background Female participants are underrepresented in randomised control trials conducted in urgent care settings. Although sex and gender are frequently reported within demographic data, it is less common for primary outcomes to be disaggregated by sex or gender. The aim of this review is to report sex and gender of participants in the primary papers published on research listed on the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Trauma and Emergency Care (TEC) portfolio and how these data are presented.
Methods This is a systematic review of the published outputs of interventional trials conducted in UK EDs. Interventional trials were eligible to be included in the review if they were registered on the NIHR TEC research portfolio from January 2010, if the primary paper was published before 31 December 2023 and if the research was delivered primarily in the ED. Trials were identified through the NIHR open data platform and the primary papers were identified through specific searches using MedLine, EMBASE and PubMed. The primary objective of the review is to quantify the proportion of sex-disaggregated or gender-disaggregated primary outcomes in clinical trials within UK emergency medicine.
Results The initial search revealed 169 registered research projects on the NIHR TEC portfolio during the study period, of which 24 met the inclusion criteria. Overall, 76 719 participants were included, of which 31 374 (40%) were female. Only one trial (CRYOSTAT-2) reported a sex-disaggregated analysis of the effect of the intervention on either primary or secondary outcomes, and no sex-based difference in treatment effect was detected.
Conclusions Fewer females than males were included in TEC trials from 2010 to 2023. One trial reported the primary outcome stratified by sex. There is significant scope to increase the scientific value of TEC trials to females by funders.
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.
https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2024-214054
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Handling editor Richard Body
Contributors RA-C conceived the study, with support from JP. RA-C and JP conducted the search screening and full text identification. RA-C extracted data for the primary outcome and study characteristics. RA-C drafted the paper with JP, EC and BMB. All authors provided comments on the paper. RA-C acts as guarantor. The corresponding author attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.
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Sex education at schools should begin as early as possible, starting in grade 3 or 4, introducing the primary concepts of sexual development. In this way, sex education can help children be more confident in their sexual development and apply safety measures to avoid risks and negative effects of early sexual activity. Works Cited.
Essay, Pages 10 (2310 words) Views. 14102. Sex Education Should be Taught in Schools. Introduction. Kids spend a better part of their childhood in school, and they learn a lot. After every academic year, they will have acquired so many skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic. At least those are the basics, but some schools go an extra mile ...
School-based sex education in the U.S. is at a crossroads. The United Nations defines sex education as a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality [1]. Over many years, sex education has had strong support among both parents [2] and health professionals [3-6], yet the receipt of sex education among U.S ...
Sexual risk avoidance education is also known as abstinence only or abstinence-leaning education. It generally teaches that not having sex is the only morally acceptable, safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy and STIs — some programs don't talk about birth control or condoms- unless it is to emphasize failure rates.
School-based sex education plays a vital role in the sexual health and well-being of young people. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of efforts beyond pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention. The authors conducted a systematic literature review of three decades of research on school-based programs to find evidence for the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education.
A recent study from Columbia University's Sexual Health Initative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) project suggests that comprehensive sex education protects students from sexual assault even after high school. If students become more well-practiced in thinking about caring for one another, they'll be less likely to commit — and be less ...
Guest Essay. After Roe, Sex Ed Is Even More Vital. July 20, 2022. Credit... Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images. Share full article. 251. ... Sex education improves skills like empathy, communication ...
Comprehensive sex education (CSE) is preferred over abstinence-only sex education for obvious reasons. CSE is much more than just "how we have babies" and "birth control"; it focuses on healthy decision-making, respect for the opposite gender, safe sex, ability to consent, and sexual rights. The United Nations Educational, Scientific ...
Comprehensive sexuality education - or the many other ways this may be referred to - is a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that empowers them to realize their health ...
In academic literature that supports school-based sex education, adolescence is presented as the main stage of sexual development (Lesko, 2001).It is the time in which healthy habits in regards to sexuality are formed, and therefore, from a health education perspective, the time to deliver sexual health interventions (Schaalma et al., 2004).In this life stage, beginning to engage in sexual ...
In fact, according to a report released this year by the Center for American Progress (CAP), only 24 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education in public schools, and even fewer states include consent. "Sex ed is often scattershot and many of the students don't have access to sex ed at all," says Catherine Brown, the vice ...
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) gives young people accurate, age-appropriate information about sexuality and their sexual and reproductive health, which is critical for their health and survival. While CSE programmes will be different everywhere, the - which was developed together by UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, UNAIDS and WHO ...
In the early 90's, the main focus of sex education was inclined towards the concept revolving around marriage and role of family members. However, with time the definition behind sex education has changed to a great extent. The school nowadays are more focused towards educating teenagers about prevention of unwanted pregnancies and sexually ...
Thirdly, for teenage girls who took sex education, the risk of having sex before the age of 15 is reduced 59% while for boys' are 71%, compared to those who didn't take sex education. (Doheny, 2007). The evidences collected have pointed out that sex education indeed can reduce teen pregnancy. Therefore, in conclusion, again it is emphasized ...
The aim of this study is to provide an overview of what is known about the dissemination and effectiveness of sex education programs and thereby to inform better public policy making in this area. Methodology: We carried out a systematic review based on international scientific literature, in which only peer-reviewed papers were included. To ...
Personal Sexuality. Sexual education has an integral role in removing one's doubts on sexuality and sex related topics. It has often been identified that sexual education helps one to get a clear picture of the male and female sexuality. The sexual counseling and orientation class that I received was really effective in taking away the veil ...
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Persuasive Essay: Should Schools Teach Sexual Education. Sexual education in public schools has long been a controversial topic, with proponents arguing that it is essential for the overall well-being and safety of students, while opponents claim that it goes against cultural or religious beliefs. However, in today's society where access to ...
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Furthermore, sex education helps young people to examine the forces that contribute to a positive or negative body image. Respect others' right to bodily autonomy. Eight percent of high school students have been forced to have intercourse [8], while one in ten students say they have committed sexual violence. [9]
1) The document discusses the benefits of implementing sex education in schools, including reducing teen pregnancy rates and providing students with correct information about sex from qualified teachers rather than other sources. 2) It presents evidence that sex education programs have been shown to reduce teen pregnancy and birth rates in places that have implemented them like California and ...
argumentative-essay-on-sex-education-in-schools - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Sex education should be implemented in schools for several reasons: 1) It can reduce teen pregnancy rates by providing information to help teenagers make informed choices and practice safe sex. Research shows sex education classes delay sexual activity and increase ...
Background Female participants are underrepresented in randomised control trials conducted in urgent care settings. Although sex and gender are frequently reported within demographic data, it is less common for primary outcomes to be disaggregated by sex or gender. The aim of this review is to report sex and gender of participants in the primary papers published on research listed on the ...