I am sure we all have our own funny stories about sex ed class. But they really aren't so funny when we think about the fact that many of us got our (mis)information about the birds and bees from halted conversations with our parents, from gossiping with our friends, or from reading the bathroom wall.
Despite today's availability of information about sex and abstinence, things haven't gotten much better for adolescents. Ask a kid what "not having sex" means and you'll get a million different answers.
Legislation like the recently introduced REAL Act (The Responsible Education About Life Act) aims to end such misinformation by providing federal funding for comprehensive sex education in schools. (For the last 10 years billions of dollars have gone to abstinence-only-until-marriage programs while zero dollars went to what is known as comprehensive sex education.)
Informing policy initiatives, the actual design of sex education curricula, and activist interventions, is a body of knowledge produced by nonprofits and university based research centers that aims to answer critical questions about sex education.
What should kids know about sex and at what age?
What effect does knowing about sex have on adolescent sexual behavior?
Who is responsible for teaching kids about sex? parents, gym teachers, health teachers?
Are LGBTQ teens being left out of sex ed?
What can we do to prevent teen pregnancy?
What works best in HIV prevention education?
This is an issue that affects everyone, yet because the issue is often cast as being a moral issue it is tempting to avoid it altogether or to even imagine that the debate about sex education is a thing of the past. We encourage you to take a minute to explore some of the research collected here and get a different view on sex ed.
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Fast Facts: Unique Needs of Children Born to Teen Parents
Contributing Organization(s): Healthy Teen Network
Publication date: 2008-10-01
| Complete listing and access info | Download
Although teenage pregnancy and birth rates are at a record low in the United States, there is still a significant number of teen families whose unique needs are not being addressed. Without access to adequate services, teen mothers may not receive prenatal care, placing the baby at increased risks of premature birth and low birth weight and resultant health risks. With appropriate and timely interventions, many of the negative outcomes associated with teen pregnancy can be prevented. Complete listing and access info » |
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How Much Do You Know About Teen Sexual Behavior? A True-False Quiz
Contributing Organization(s): Child Trends
Publication date: 2008-08-13
| Complete listing and access info | Download
Without the facts, it's difficult to develop effective approaches to reduce risky sexual behaviors and prevent teen pregnancy and STD transmission. This Child Trends fact sheet lists ten things that parents, policy makers, and practitioners should know about teen sexual behavior. While all teens who have sex are at risk of pregnancy and STDs, the fact sheet highlights some of the behaviors that put teens at increased risk. Complete listing and access info » |
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Ignorance Only: HIV/AIDS, Human Rights And Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Programs in the United States
Contributing Organization(s): Human Rights Watch
Publication date: 2002-09-18
| Complete listing and access info | Download
Programs teaching teenagers to "just say no" to sex before marriage are threatening adolescent health by censoring basic information about how to prevent HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today. The forty-seven page report focuses on federally funded "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs in Texas, where advertising campaigns convey the message that teenagers should not use condoms because they don't work. Some school-based programs in Texas do not mention condoms at all. Federal health agencies share the broad scientific consensus that condoms, when used correctly, are highly effective in preventing the transmission of HIV. Yet the U.S. government currently spends more than $100 million each year on "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs, which cannot by law "promote or endorse" condoms or provide instruction regarding their use. The Bush administration is advocating a 33 percent increase in funding for these programs. Complete listing and access info » |
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The Impact of Early Abuse on Male Sexual and Reproductive Health
Contributing Organization(s): Healthy Teen Network
Publication date: 2008-10-01
| Complete listing and access info | Download
With this resource guide, Healthy Teen Network strives to draw attention to the significant issue of abuse for males; add to the voices calling for a shift in our thinking about males and sexual abuse; and call for parity in education, services and supports for young men. Complete listing and access info » |
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The Impact of Homophobia and Racism on GLBTQ Youth of Color
Contributing Organization(s): Advocates for Youth
Publication date: 2007-06-01
| Complete listing and access info | Download
As members of more than one minority group, GLBTQ youth of color face special challenges in a society which often presents heterosexuality as the only acceptable orientation and in which nonwhites have disproportionately higher rates of negative sexual outcomes. Economic and cultural disparities, as well as sexual risk taking and other risk-taking behavior, make these youth vulnerable to HIV, pregnancy, and sexual violence. Holistic, culturally competent health care is essential to their well being. Sexual identity formation is not significantly influenced by cultural factors; that is, studies have shown no significant differences between white youth and youth of color in mean age of being "out to self" (16 for young women, 15 for young men); age coming out to others (17 for young women and young men), or age of first homosexual sexual experience (17 for young women, 16 for young men). Black and Latino youth also did not differ from white youth in acceptance of their own sexuality. But while GLBTQ youth of color develop similarly to white youth, they must bear the twin burdens of racism and homophobia. Complete listing and access info » |
Available for your listening pleasure: a podcast on the issue of adolescents and reproductive health. Stacy Kessler, IssueLab's Collections Assistant, chatted with Laura Lindberg, Senior Research Associate at the Guttmacher Institute about the role of nonprofit research in the debate about comprehensive sex ed and abstinence training.
