Comprehensive sex education

Comprehensive sex education is a sex education instruction method where students gain knowledge, attitudes, skills and values to make appropriate and healthy choices in their sexual behavior, thus preventing them from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and HPV, teenage or unwanted pregnancies, and from domestic and sexual violence, contributing to a greater society.^[1] It covers sexual abstinence topics but in comprehensive way also involves topics like human sexual activity, age of consent, safe sex, birth control and use of condoms.

Comprehensive sex education gives information to youth about sexuality instead of avoiding it, this allow students to know about this topics and be prepared be ready to take a decision or even protection whenever they decide to start or not their sexual relationships.

The benefit of use comprehensive sex education over abstinence-only sex education is that this method cover the population that is or will be sexually active, and allow them to take better decisions, methods or protection to avoid STI or pregnancy.^[2][3][4]

In popular culture

• Comprehensive sex education is the main topic in the documentary The Education of Shelby Knox released in 2005 about Lubbock, Texas, which has one of the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the nation. The "solution" to which is a strict abstinence-only sex education curriculum in the public schools and a conservative preacher who urges kids to pledge abstinence until marriage.
• In 2013, How to Lose Your Virginity was released, a documentary that questioned the effectiveness of the Abstinence-only sex education movement and observed how sexuality continues to define a young woman's morality and self-worth.^[5][6] The meaning and necessity of virginity as a social construct is also examined through narration and interviews with notable sexuality experts, such as former Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders, "Scarleteen"^[7] creator and editor Heather Corinna, historian Hanne Blank, author Jessica Valenti, and comprehensive sex education advocate Shelby Knox.

See also

• Sex education
• Sexual revolution
• Age of consent
• Sex education in the United States
• Abstinence-only sex education in Uganda
• Sex education curriculum

References

1. Loeber, O.; Reuter, S.; Apter,van der Doef; Lazdane, Pinter (June 2010). "Aspects of sexuality education in Europe – definitions, differences and developments". European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care. 15 (3): 169–176. doi:10.3109/13625181003797280. PMID 20465399.
2. "Comprehensive Sex Education and Academic Success". www.futureofsexed.org. 2015-02-26. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
3. "Comprehensive sexuality education". www.unfpa.org. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
4. "Comprehensive Sex Education: Research and Results". advocatesforyouth.org. 2010-12-08. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
5. Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (June 24, 2010). "How to Lose Your Virginity: An Interview with Therese Shechter". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
6. Stein, Sadie (May 26, 2010). "Losing Your Virginity Is Harder Than You Think". Jezebel. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
7. "About Scarleteen". www.scarleteen.com. Retrieved 2016-07-17.