Sex-ed should teach consent. “ ‘There’s really no clear standard yet -- what we have is a lot of ambiguity on how these standards really work in the court of law,’ said John F. Banzhaf III, a professor at George Washington University Law School” (Medina 1). This is about the highly debated subject: teaching consent in schools. Consensual is involving or carried out by mutual consent. Consent is permission, approval, or agreement. This argument is about where consent is already taught and the results, developing habits that are carried into college, and whether or not it’s abstinence that should be taught. Sex-Ed should teach about consent. Consent should be taught from an early age, first lightly, then more detailed. “The Netherlands made …show more content…
“With gov. Jerry brown’s signature on the bill this month, California became the first state to require that all high school health education classes give lessons on affirmative consent, which includes explaining that someone who is drunk or asleep cannot grant consent” (Medina 1). Teaching about affirmative consent is important for young adults. They need to know what is consensual, and what is not. “ Kevin de leon, the California State Senate speaker pro tempore and lead sponsor of the high school legislation, said … ‘Sexual violence has always thrived in the gray areas of the law … What we want to create is a standard of behavior, a paradigm shift as much as a legal shift” (Medina 2). Creating this standard will be easier if it is taught to young adults who are just starting to experiment. “But among teenagers, who are only beginning to experiment with their sexuality, and have hazy ideas of their own boundaries, the talk tends to be about ‘hooking up’ and what the rules are. ‘kids are still establishing patterns of behavior, and they have a lot of specific concrete questions’ said Ms. Zaloom, who has written a curriculum for affirmative consent programs that is being used throughout the country” ( Medina 2-3). Teachers can answer these questions and clear up confusion, and set a standard about how consent works. If we do not teach them in High school they might carry these habits into
“Throughout the 1980’s these arguments began to lose legitimacy as the American republic reiterated its support (Fose)”. “Although this topic is highly debated, 93 percent of Americans support “sex or sexuallity” courses being taught in high school and 84 percent supports teachings in junior high (Fose)”. More people requested sex education because of the AIDs epidemic. The AIDs epidemic cau...
The three articles above that discussed sexual consent through the lens of sexual coercion, internal and external consent and benevolent sexism have demonstrated that there is a variety of forms that sexual consent is needed in order for sexual assault to be prevented from occurring. Also it demonstrated that sexual consent already being ambiguous does not help in establishing prevention of sexual assault, when the no is not clear, since it needs to be expressed both externally through verbal an nonverbal cues but also be internal consent from the person understanding that they are giving their affirmative consent. This is similar to the article about the films, where in Dr Brod’s lecture explained that not only the person giving consent needed to be aware of how they were giving but the one’s accepting it had to know how they got it. There is a need to understand that unless people start to gain knowledge about sexual consent, the situations will be misunderstood and sexual assault can
One of the most popular views comes from a moral standpoint, from this stance it is suggested that abstinence only programs are the best and most morally correct way of educating students about sex. In the early eighties the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) was put into the action, it was also known as “The Chastity Act.” “AFLA focuses on developing programs that promote abstinence as the only option to help young people avoid sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy.” (Perrin and DeJoy 446-47). AFLA caused a lot of controversy over whether this was the best way to educate children about sex. Those opposed to AFLA argue that this method of sex education offers no safe alternative to having sex and is not actually educating students on sex. It is only focused on encouraging students to refrain from sexual activity.
Within the past thirty years, the courts have extended the legal parameters of rape to include the withdrawal of consent after penetration. Courts and state legislatures around the country should seek to modernize rape statutes to protect all victims of nonconsensual intercourse, regardless of when those victims manifest their lack of consent. Within English common law, a conviction of rape required evidence that the perpetrator used force or threats of force against the victim. There is much contradiction between states regarding consent. In an effort to eliminate moral ambiguity or the question of consent, an affirmative consent standard should be set into place that refines the classification of consent from “not saying no to sex” to saying yes to the sex with words or obvious enthusiastic actions.
This curriculum focuses on teaching young people that they have sexual rights, which include saying no, and only doing what they feel is comfortable when they feel it’s comfortable. In addition, this curriculum takes a look at gender norms, sexual orientation, dating violence, as well as the rights and responsibilities that come along with both intimate and friendly relationships. Rights-based curriculum also goes into detail and takes a look at what happens if someone was to contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD), HIV, or become pregnant. The curriculum completely deviates away from the traditional sex education topics, giving students a more comprehensive and complete idea about their bodies, without sugar coating the truth due to the fear of rejection and controversy
After many years of prosecuting statutory rape laws, some people are being to question whether or not these laws when concerning non-violent “sex with a minor” are actually appropriate and effective in protecting the rights of minors. The people who support statutory rape laws would argue that in any relationship where one legal aged partner is significantly older than the other, the older of the two has a greater power advantage over the younger. Thus even if a person under the age of consent agrees to sexual activity, it is still considered lawfully to be rape, because that person is not mature enough to make a well thought-out decision. Adults fear that the younger person in the relationship may be unconsciously forced emotionally, if not physically, into engaging in sexual acts with their partner. According to the Taking Sides (Issue 17), “Statutory rape laws are designed, in part, to keep these types of unequal relationships from becoming human nature.”
Upon further research, it came to my attention that only 24 of the 50 states require sex education. Sex has always been a touchy subject for man to discuses, especially in an educational environment. Due to my lack of knowledge of the subject, talking about sex makes me feel vulnerable, although I know it shouldn’t. Thankfully, I have gained a new appreciation to the educational element involved with sex, through this course and the Roger hock text
Think it is a bad thing, and in reality it isn 't if we didn 't have sex none of us would be here and if students are taught the right things about the subject and educated on the facts they will get a better understanding and know what to do if the situation approaches them (Rushowy 1). “Markham said the broader concept of consent could be added early on by talking to younger students about respectful relationships and boundaries around their bodies.” On the other hand this worries parents about how their children will respond to learning about these things, and about how the teacher is teaching it. because it might not be the way they want their children to learn about this subject (Keenan 1). “Schools interpret (the mandate) in different ways.” and this comes with such problems as, “leaving the sexual education curriculum up to the individual districts a...
Levine, Judith. Harmful to minors: the perils of protecting children from sex. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
In today’s society, many individuals are aware of the issue of teenage pregnancy and the high rate of sexually transmitted diseases among the youth. One can simply turn on their television and become quickly aware of the popular, yet controversial, discussion of teenage sexual activity in the United States through the news and shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. Almost ever, discussion about teenagers and their sexual activity refers back to Sex Education in the public school system. Many individuals would consider Sex Education to be the source and/or solution to the problems that occur as a result of sexually active teenagers in the United States. For many decades, Sex Education has been taught in public schools but also has been a topic of controversy. Proponents of Abstinence-Only Education argue that Traditional Sex Education should not just focus on teaching students about contraceptives and how to use them, but instead it should also help students develop and acquire the virtues of prudence and temperance, and teach students the importance of abstinence and the emotional risk that comes along with being sexually active at such a young age. Other people like to argue that Traditional Sex Education should be taught in schools because they believe that informing students about how to be safe when participating in sexual acts is very important. Abstinence-Only Education is the best form of Sex Education for students and should be taught in the public school system because it teaches students the importance of abstaining from sex along with helping them develop or acquire the virtues of prudence and temperance.
There has been a heated debate over the years on whether sex education should be taught at schools instead of abstinence-only. Many believe that talking about sex in the classroom raises the initiation of such behavior, and by stressing discipline, self-control, and self-respect, advocates argue, abstinence-only programs build character in students. Others believe that ignoring the subject keeps teens in the dark which leads them to make unsafe decisions when they become sexually active. In order to fix this problem schools should teach Sex Education, but emphasize that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
In the United States, there is a rising problem that is not going anywhere anytime soon, that is if we, as citizens, don 't change it. This problem is causing billions of dollars and people 's futures all because schools would rather teach ignorance than the truth. What’s the problem? Sex education. Although sex education may not seem like a rising conflict, it is actually one of the top controversial topics in our country regarding education. According to Brigid McKeon, “Each year, U.S. teens experience as many as 850,000 pregnancies, and youth under age 25 experience about 9.1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs)” (McKeon). This number is so unbelievable to any sane person, but somehow schools still won 't take the initiative to teach realistic sex education. Sex education can be taught in two different procedures- comprehensive or abstinence only. The difference between the two methods is that comprehensive sex education teaches abstinence as a secondary choice, so that teens who decide not to wait are well educated on how to keep themselves protected. Comprehensive sex education should be required in every single public school because it is the most effective method on how to keep teenagers well informed and prepared.
Sex education should be increased in schools. Nearly one million women under the age of 20 get pregnant each year. That means 2800 women get pregnant each day. If students are educated about the effects sex has on their lives, it lessens their chance of having children at an early age. Knowledge about sex can also lessen the chance of kids receiving STDS.
Additionally, comprehensive sex education programs are a way to educate young adults about right and wrong. A study by the American Association of University in 1993 stated that four out of five high school students have experienced sexual harassment (Lickona, 1993). Education is a powerful tool to teach young children between right and wrong. In the Havens, there is a confusion about what constitutes rape. According to the Havens, 77% of young men between 18-25 believed that having sex with someone who said “no” constituted rape. Due to this confusion, young men are looking more into porn magazines to gain information about sex (Cosslett, 2014). As schools only teach the bare minimal of staying abstinence, young adults are searching elsewhere
The debate about what should be taught to the children is another issue; as is, how much of that information should be taught. Currently, eighteen states and the District of Columbia require schools to provide sex education and thirty-two do not. In some states, such as Louisiana, students may learn about HIV/AIDS, but not about any other sexually transmitted infections or how to prevent pregnancy. In other states, like Washington, teens receive information on everything from birth control pills to homosexuality. However, this once again raises the question about who should be educateing these children about sex and how to do it.