The Importance Of Sex Education Free Essay Example

Almost every day teenagers are influenced by society regarding their sex life. Guttmacher Institute has researched adolescents’ reports of formal sexual health education, it shows that rural adolescents who had received instruction about birth control declined from 71% to 48% among females, and from 59% to 45% among males. Most students aren’t informed about the importance of consent and proper sexual behavior. Allowing children to understand sex education isn’t simple and it may make parents feel uncomfortable knowing that their child is being taught at school, which is why it is also important that parents introduce the information to their child at home. Although some parents may believe that sex education shouldn’t be taught to children in school since they believe children are much too young for such a sensitive topic, sex education holds vital importance for averting teen pregnancy and other sex-related risks.

Likewise, researchers have shown that risks for unplanned teen pregnancy have decreased when teenagers are informed about the safety of sex. Providing external condoms in schools has proved to help students make the right choices during sex and this doesn’t increase the risk of teens having sex. News Wise has stated that “Teens who received comprehensive sex education were 60 percent less likely to report becoming pregnant or impregnating someone than those who received no sex education.” Studies have shown that adolescents who are informed about the safety of sex decrease the risk of any sex-related risk for both males and females. It also is important for the student's health, allowing them to understand the different diseases that can affect them during any sexual activity. This helps decrease the rate of teen pregnancies and other health-related risks such as preventing STDs or STIs. 

Allowing students to learn about their safety of sex and proper sexual behavior, can benefit many children regarding their health. The Education Team of Planned Parenthood explains that there has been “Research published by the Public Library of Science shows that when sex education is comprehensive, students feel more informed, make safer choices, and have healthier outcomes. This results in fewer unplanned pregnancies and more protection against sexually transmitted diseases and infections.” This is vital for a student's health while it still informs many students on what they need to know whenever they choose to perform any sexual activity. Sex education also allows a student to feel more informed. But school is not the only way to inform children about sex education. At home, learning is also a big factor in a child’s understanding of sex-related topics. It allows the child to be more comfortable when asking questions and it also provides the child with another source of information other than school. 

In addition, sex education teaches one about other sex-related topics. Social media has been a very large influence in today's society. There are many males and females who aren’t taught the importance of consent and what is considered sexual harassment. In The Daily Star article titled “Why Sex Education is Important, Now More Than Ever”, writer Jinar Jahan Khan says “the increase in the sexual assault and harassment of male children is urging the importance of providing well-structured sex education to all irrespective of gender.” Children at a young age should be able to understand the power of consent in order to prevent them from blindly being sexually harassed. Sexual education may help prevent many students mentally and physically regarding their health by allowing them to understand the dangers of many sexual activities in the world today. 

Sex education also teaches a student about the power of consent not only from predators but also much simpler things such as wanting to receive a hug from a friend or being put in a tough situation for wanting to please their partner in a relationship. An article called Wechu, states that “One in three women will encounter some sort of sexual violence in her lifetime, and the skills that are taught early in life about consent will help people make the best decisions for their current and future relationships.” It is vital for young people to learn the meaning of consent and the ways they are able to use it in their everyday lives. Consent can help reduce the amounts of sexual assaults, STDs, and unplanned pregnancies, this can also help one build a stable and healthy relationship with their partner. 

Nonetheless, there are many who disapprove of the idea of sex education being taught at schools or even in their own homes. Many parents may feel uneasy knowing that their children are learning about sex and other sex-related topics. According to BBC News, 41% of parents said that “it is inappropriate to teach children about sex” when they took a survey that asked whether or not they agree “with the fact that sex education is often taught to children in schools, even from a young age.”  Many parents might feel this way towards their children learning about sex because it could give them a chance to do something sexual with their partner. The idea of young people learning too much and understanding too much about sex and how topics related to sex work, frightens many parents. Most parents wouldn’t want to risk their kids having ideas after learning about sex. 

In spite of these feelings and fears, many parents tend to feel when asked about sex education, it doesn’t erase the fact that sex education is still just as important as it sounds. Teaching a child about sex and sex-related topics doesn’t give them ideas about wanting to have sex, but instead warns them about the outcomes of sex and sexual-related topics. In the political cartoon found on Berkeley’s website, the principal is shouting “No condoms in school!” “No sex education!” And “abstinence-only.” While behind the principal, stands a young lady who is pregnant saying “I’m a private matter.” This cartoon helps illustrates an image of how important sex education is, it describes a young woman being pregnant because of a lack of education. The risk of STIs and unplanned pregnancies are decreasing as long as children are being informed about the safety of sex. 

Even so, sex education isn’t only about sex but also how to teach one about manners and respecting the decisions of others. Sex education is just as important and vital just as any other subject, for it allows young ones to acknowledge the safety of many diseases and how to prevent unplanned pregnancies. Many parents might disagree with this idea for it might scare them to allow their child to learn about a very sensitive topic but this does not increase the rate of sex. With the exposure of children to social media, it is easy for many children to be influenced by misleading information, which is why sex education is critical so that kids can be able to receive the right information rather than one that is misleading. Overall, parents may believe that sex education shouldn’t be taught to children in school since they believe children are much too young for such a sensitive topic, sex education is critical for a child’s learning since it holds vital importance for averting teen pregnancy and other sex-related risks.