Sexuality Reflection Paper

Sexuality

During puberty, there are changes in the nature and meaning of sexual behavior. Sexual activity can now lead to pregnancy. Prior to puberty young children are curious about their genitals, but it is not until adolescence that behavior becomes truly sexually motivated. In a survey completed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2013 it was found that U.S. high school students were engaging in sexually risky behaviors. 47% admitted to having sexual intercourse; 34% had had sexual intercourse during the previous 3 months, and, of these; 41% did not use a condom the last time they had sex; 15% had had sex with four or more people during their life and only 22% of sexually experienced students have ever been tested for HIV. The CDC also found that nearly 10,000 young people (aged 13-24) were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States in 2013. Young gay and bisexual men (aged 13-24) accounted for an estimated 19% (8,800) of all new HIV infections in the United States, and 72% of new HIV infections among youth in 2010. Nearly half of the 20 million new STDs each year were among young people, between the ages of 15 to 24, and approximately 273,000 babies were born to teen girls aged 15–19 years in 2013.

Effective sex education can reduce adolescents’ likelihood of having unsafe sex, but it does not reduce their likelihood of having sex. Abstinence-only sex education programs are entirely unsuccessful a better comprehensive sex education is needed. However, most schools are reluctant to have well informed sex education classes. Comprehensive sex education courses or programs will provide information about contraception, STDs, and pregnancy. Also they may have an impact by teaching adolescents how to refuse unwanted sex and avoid unintended sex, they may also Increase adolescents’ motivation to engage in safe sex and change perceptions about peer norms and attitudes. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 37 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to allow parental involvement in sexual education programs, also 3 states require parental consent before a child can receive instruction and 35 states and the District of Columbia allow parents to opt-out on behalf of their children. In New Jersey it requires school districts to include information on reproductive coercion as part of the existing dating violence education program in grades seven through twelve. Most decisions are referred to the Assembly Committee on Education.

Additionally it is the responsibility of the parents to educate their children about sex. While parents withhold information, the media spews sexual misinformation at youths. In a study written