Sex Ed Saves

By: Olivia McHaney

TW: Sexual Assault

As the hubs for many of the lives of young people, public schools have a responsibility to educate their students in many areas of their lives. This includes comprehensive sex education. When I was in high school, my sex education program lasted a total of two class periods, and was dramatically uninformative. A stringent focus on the “biological” aspect of sexual encounters within heterosexual relationships left conversations about enthusiastic consent, gender nonconforming relationships, and the social implications and history of sexually transmitted diseases out of the picture. For students, engaging in and learning about sexual health is complicated and extends far beyond physical bodies. 

As someone who was sexually assaulted during my time in early high school, I understand what can happen to students who are not given comprehensive sex education that centers consent. After my experience, I had no idea how to describe what happened to me, and didn’t understand the huge gravity of what I went through (something I’m continuing to come to terms with five years later). Students need to be informed about what consent is and how it functions in real life situations. They need to learn about how the feelings they experience can be described in words, and be given resources about who can help them if they ever find themselves in situations of vulnerability or violation. 

There is hope, and there are solutions for this. Allocating funding for the employment of properly credentialed and effectively trained sexual health educators is an imperative and effective first step. Taking more time for programs themselves, and giving students a chance to have a hand in expressing what they want to learn about. Beyond all, centering consent in any discussion of sexual intimacy between partners is of the utmost importance, both in terms of sexual health knowledge but also in terms of student empowerment and personal safety. What students learn in the classroom has a bearing on everything that takes place in their lives as a whole. We have a responsibility to provide them with the full and comprehensive resources they need to live safe, educated, and responsible lives.