Utah Needs Comprehensive Sex-Ed

by SONIA WEGLINSKI

I’ve lived in Utah for most of my 18 years of life, and I can’t remember a time I ever had a proper sex-education. The closest thing I got was my sophomore year health teacher briefly discussing how to use a condom, and an outdated 90s video shoving the abstinence-only approach down my throat. To make matter worse, my parents were very traditional, so I never explicitly had the “sex talk”. Currently, Utah is one of only five states that requires parental consent for their kids to learn about sex education. This had left me — and many other naive, and confused students —  to rely on friends and what they saw on-screen to educate themselves, which, oftentimes, were false, overexaggerated perceptions.

The average age people have sex is between 16 and 18 years old. While this may seem like an unsurprising fact, Utahns seem to be in denial as they continue to preach against pre-marital sex. Purity culture has significantly contributed to this stigma, and the effects of depriving kids has been blatant. We have a 13.1% teen pregnancy rate, and our state is ranked one of the most dangerous for rape and sexual violence. Culturally, it’s time we normalize conversations surrounding sex. Hormonal teenagers will act on their natural biological instincts, and instead of shaming kids, there needs to be comprehensive sex-education statewide, so teenagers and young adults are prepared for the inevitable. 

When kids are properly educated about sexuality and their bodies, they’ll have a higher likelihood of avoiding uncomfortable — and most importantly — dangerous situations. Studies show that states who require teaching abstinence-only approaches have higher rates of STDs compared to states who don’t. Moreover, teaching high schoolers comprehensive sex education has been linked to preventing sexual violence. “It teaches students how to value their own bodily autonomy, ask for consent, and identify unhealthy relationship behavior,” wrote Mashable writer Rebecca Ruiz in an article.

If students don’t have easy access to appropriate tools or knowledge for a sexual encounter, then Utah lawmakers and parents can’t blame kids for the consequences that occur as a result. Utah students deserve to know everything there is about sex — not shame them for it.