Creating Sex Ed to Support Everyone
When you think about sex education, you might think about condoms on bananas, cringing through informational videos from the ‘80s, or hearing horror stories meant to scare you into abstinence. Or perhaps you are one of the lucky people whose experience with sex education was helpful, comfortable, and didn’t involve shame. My experience fell toward the latter end of the spectrum. While it wasn’t perfect, I was able to learn about consent, protection, and pleasure in a safe and constructive environment.
I would attribute my positive experience with sex education to my school; I had the privilege of attending an independent, private high school that had the resources to develop a strong curriculum for sex ed. Depending on the state you live in, and whether you go to a public, private, or religiously affiliated school, your experience with sex education can look wildly different.
The quality of sex education should not depend on the state a person lives in. Everyone, regardless of where they live or what kind of school they go to, deserves access to quality, comprehensive sex education.
That’s why Power to Decide supports REAHYA, the Real Education Access for Healthy Youth Act, which would work to address the problems with the current state of sex education by providing young people with the sex education and sexual health services they need to make informed decisions about their bodies and lives.
If passed, REAHYA would:
- Expand quality sex education and access to sexual health services across the nation and fund programs that recognize young people’s right to sex education and sexual health services.
- Amend the Public Health Service Act and Every Student Succeeds Act to enable education that does not stigmatize sex, is non-shaming of LGBTQ students, and is inclusive of contraceptive access in schools.
- Create grants for professional development and teacher training for elementary and secondary education sex educators.
- Eliminate and reprogram the Social Security Act Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage state grant program to fund the new grants.
Your voice can help support the effort to pass REAHYA and strengthen sex education. Contact your representatives and urge them to support REAHYA today.
You can also find and get involved with your local sex education group via the Sex Ed Collaborative. With your help, we can create a world in which young people are well informed about sex and are able to make the right choices for their bodies and lives.
