Editorial｜Why Proper Sex Education Should be Mandatory

We talk about sex, relationship, contraception, abortion, and sexual orientation all the time, politically and personally. Yet, do we really know much about sex?

Believe it or not, among 50 states in the US, only 29 states mandate sex education, while only 17 require the content to be medically accurate.[1] How do other young adults learn about sex? Whether it’s internet, parents or friends, false and biased information is almost everywhere. With the lack of knowledge, it seems unbelievable to me that legislators get to decide whether abortion is legal, and parents get to decide how to control their children.

Firstly, I argue that proper education can effectively improve sexual health. We now live in an era where most people believe in science more than, for example, religion. Policies, laws, and products that regard health issues are all required to take science and medical evidence in consideration. However, most of us know little about sex medically. Which way of birth control is the most effective? How does menstruation affect us mentally and physically? Is masturbation healthy or not? Are sex toys or anal sex harmful? Regardless of ethics and moral debate, there are scientific ways to examine these questions, which should be widely educated. According to Petrova and Garcia-Retamero’s meta-analysis,[2] properly designed interventions, with topics on condom use and decreasing number of sexual partners etc., can achieve a 30% reduction of STI incidence. On the contrary, interventions focused on abstinence had no effect, which seems ironic, since 37 states require provision of information on abstinence.[1] Needless to say, STI prevention is only part of the sexual health that should be educated. Everyone, starting from the age when we become curious about sex, should learn about sex knowledge which is medically accurate to maintain a better health.

Secondly, I argue that topics on respect and equality should be stressed. 18.3% of women in the US have been raped at some time in their lives, including completed/attempted forced penetration, or alcohol/drug facilitated completed penetration.[3] 70.1% of LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment at school based on sexual orientation, 59.1% based on gender expression.[4] These are astonishing numbers, but have we done much prevention on sexual assault and bullying? Only 24 states and DC require provision of information on asserting personal boundaries and refusing unwanted sexual advances, while only 8 require the importance of consent to sexual activity to be covered.[1] Only 10 states and DC require inclusive content with regard to sexual orientation, while 7 states require only negative information to be provided on homosexuality and/or positive emphasis on heterosexuality.[1] I strongly believe that education on respect and inclusion is a must, in order to reduce the number of children, teenagers and women harmed.

Sex is a major part of human lives. Without proper sex education, teenagers can easily be misled into sexual abuse, assault, disease, or even abortion. Only when people actually understand their bodies can they learn to respect others and further enjoy sex as a positive element in their lives.