Teenage pregnancy, abortion, marriage, and parenthood are real, difficult experiences many families must endure across cultures. Despite the permanent consequences of uneducated sexual behavior, dozens of teenagers unknowingly make the same mistakes daily. These unfortunate occurrences are partially due to a lack of proper sexual education. This issue only grows worse in regions where the government restricts abortion rights, essentially leaving uneducated and unfortunate teenagers to accept parenthood or give in infants for adoption. Political issues aside, sexual education should be employed both by parents and schools to facilitate public health and safety.
The literature indicates two approaches to sexual education – comprehensive and abstinence-based. Abstinence-based education, as defined by Thin Zaw et al., “focuses on teaching young people that abstaining from sex until marriage is the best option to avoid diseases and unwanted pregnancy” (2). On the other hand, a comprehensive approach is defined as focusing on teaching young people “not only abstinence but also other contraceptive and preventative methods against STIs and HIV, and how to use them” (Thin Zaw et al. 2).
Abstinence-based approach might be viable in specific cultural contexts, where sexual activity only permitted after marriage is a social norm. It does have the edge over the comprehensive approach in that it cannot lead to an encouragement of early sexual activity. However, many scholars note that avoiding sex until marriage can be unreasonable for many couples (Thin Zaw et al. 2). Therein lies an advantage of a comprehensive approach – it equips young people with knowledge of how to protect themselves when they decide to have intercourse. Overall, both approaches are imperfect and have drawbacks. Nevertheless, the general application of the comprehensive approach is broader and, therefore, more effective for most people.
A question greater than choosing the approach is where and by whom sex education must be provided. Although it is intuitive to think that most parents would prefer to keep their children unaware of sex-related topics, research on parents’ attitudes toward sexual education proves the contrary. Robinson et al. (342) found that among parents who participated in the survey, 65 percent believe that sexual education should enjoy combined effort at school and home (342). Another 35 percent think that sexual education is solely a parental responsibility (Robinson et al. 342). However, it is unclear how many parents from this group favor complete refraining or some degree of sexual education.
Parents who believe in the importance of a shared educational process are justified in adhering to this position since some sex-related topics are more appropriate for home settings. Additionally, many schools lack a consistent, well-rounded sexual education curriculum, giving arbitrary preference to some topics at the expense of others (Robinson et al. 343; Shapiro and Brown 1). To mitigate the damage done by the lack of coherent sexual education in schools and to reinforce the reproductive health of their children, parents should implement at-home measures.
Innocence and age-related concerns often come up in sex education debates. To provide children with knowledge of how their bodies function, sexual education can be initiated in elementary school. Goldfarb and Lieberman mention that “sexuality education is most effective when begun early and before sexual activity begins” (22). To secure comprehension of the material, the information should be introduced continually, revealing nuances of sexual development as children approach maturity.
Regarding curriculum, the contents of sex education programs vary immensely depending on the school and state. Some topics that might be discussed during the programs include abortion and its methods, obtaining contraception and its usage. These topics, although crucial to discuss, need to be approached carefully. Abortion is a particularly sensitive topic that has caused civil disagreements for decades. Such topics must be covered reasonably without any judgment or discrimination to preserve adolescents’ sexual and emotional health. Moreover, students must be taught how to properly use contraception to prevent risks of impregnation by fractured protection. Additionally, instructors should provide students with free contraception for emergency cases and encourage them not to fear obtaining it openly or with the help of parents.
Students should also be thoroughly instructed on the topic of disease prevention. According to the research, the US experiences “an increase in the tendency of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) specifically in adolescents between 15 and 19 years due to behavioral, biological and cultural reasons” (Garzón-Orjuela et al. 2). The lack of comprehensive and consistent education on the subject prevents adolescents from making informed and responsible decisions, thus compromising public health. Sexuality educators should emphasize contraception, regular medical examination, and students’ conscientiousness as means of disease prophylaxis.
In conclusion, sexual education is instrumental in preserving the reproductive health of the adolescent populace. The model of comprehensive sexual education is better suited for a wider audience as it aims to equip young people with knowledge of contraception usage, healthy relationships, gender appreciation, and disease prevention. Sexual education should be a shared process at home and school. Education should be provided before sexual activity starts to secure high efficiency. Curricula on the subject should inform students about contraception, abortion, and related disease topics. However, this information should be delivered carefully as the topics might be perceived as intimate and unsettling.
Works Cited
Garzón-Orjuela, Nathaly, et al. “Effectiveness of sex education interventions in adolescents: An overview.” Comprehensive child and adolescent nursing 44.1 (2021): 15-48.
Goldfarb, Eva S., and Lisa D. Lieberman. “Three decades of research: The case for comprehensive sex education.” Journal of Adolescent Health 68.1 (2021): 13-27.
Robinson, Kerry H., Elizabeth Smith, and Cristyn Davies. “Responsibilities, tensions and ways forward: parents’ perspectives on children’s sexuality education.” Sex Education 17.3 (2017): 333-347.
Shapiro, Sarah, and Catherine Brown. “Sex Education Standards across the States.” Center for American progress (2018).
Thin Zaw, Phyu Phyu, et al. “Abstinence-only or comprehensive sex education at Myanmar schools: Preferences and knowledge among students, teachers, parents and policy makers.” Sex Education 21.1 (2021): 75-90.