I distinctly remember the day my school taught me that version of sex education. A middle school PE teacher gave an offensive presentation about STDs/STIs and intermittently joked to make classmates laugh.
Today, as a high school student, this was the only time I was taught sex education. Of course, since I am a high school student, I know about sex. For most students, myself included, sex education comes from friends, siblings, or older teammates.
know the risks
What my peers don’t let me know is the risks inherent in sexual relationships with multiple partners and the importance of contraception.
This is the very reason our state has legislation that requires school districts to implement sex education in their curricula. Kentucky’s lack of an adequate sex education curriculum is particularly problematic, especially given the overthrow of the Roe v. Wade case.
Not only are young Kentuckians facing a near-total ban on abortion, but they are also ill-informed about the risks of having unprotected sex.
Our lawmakers are: Choose to allow members to not have access to contraceptives. Choosing to allow voters to attend schools that do not take the sex education curriculum seriously. It is essentially responsible for the increase in accidental pregnancies among teens.
know the data
In fact, Kentucky’s lack of interest in sex education has created a problem that has become nationally recognized: 68% of pregnancies in Kentucky are unintended, and those numbers are up this year. This predates Hobbes v. Jackson, which was issued by the Supreme Court in early July. .
In 2011, researchers at the Guttmacher Institute in New York completed a study on the rate of unintended pregnancies. Kentucky’s rate of 68% for her was found to be the highest rate in the entire United States.
This spectacle made possible by Kentucky legislators should be viewed with even more amazing facts. According to the Sex Education Collaborative, sex education in Kentucky need not be comprehensive or include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity. Include consent instructions.
Not only do Kentucky students remain in uniform about the risks of unprotected sex, they are also not instructed to seek consent from their partners before having sex.
With these staggering statistics in mind, it’s no wonder Kentucky’s rape rate is above the national average.
The most disturbing fact about all these statistics is that they are unlikely to improve anytime soon. Kentucky lawmakers stepped up their attacks on the controversial curriculum in the recent legislature. This trend has become common in state legislatures across the country.
Despite the fact that there are no laws mandating instruction on HIV or sexually transmitted disease prevention, and that only about half of Kentucky students recently used a condom during sexual intercourse, lawmakers are criticizing the curriculum. The state’s reality is harsh given that it limits
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student needs help
Currently, students like me are not encouraged to abstain from sex. Nor are they encouraged to use contraceptives during sex.
Kentucky’s public school system is well equipped to introduce these topics into its curriculum. I have great faith in the Kentucky public school system and educators.
But in the last legislative session, my trust in Congress has plummeted to the bottom. This reflects Frankfort’s incompetence with the Commonwealth’s most pressing issues.
Friends and older teammates taught me the basics of sex. But I wish it was a public school teacher with a college education. In fact, these are the adults who should do just this.
I hope the City of Frankfort will take my advice to heart and ensure a better future for students like me at the next Congress.
Zachary Clifton is a board member of the KY YMCA Youth Association and a student at the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science.