Positionality Effective sexual health education provides one with the opportunity to develop promising interpersonal skills, make informed decisions on health, and achieve positive health outcomes. Consequently, there still remains a population of adolescents who are not offered an effective sexual health education. Years ago, this population of adolescents included my former high school classmates and me. My former high school did not provide students with the sexual health information or resources they needed to make the best decisions for their health. As a result, there was an increasing trend of unplanned pregnancies in my community. I witnessed my peers undergo physical and mental stress with signs like poor nutrition and social isolation. With the limited resources provided in my community, it became a challenge for me to seek help and change the dynamic. However, I also knew that there was a …show more content…
Despite disagreements, between fiscal years 1982 and 2017, Congress spent over $2 billion on federal abstinence-based education (SIECUS, 2017). Public schools across the U.S. have made it their mission to meet the needs of parents by providing their children with the tools they need to live successful and healthier lives. According to Advocates for Youth, comprehensive sex education (CSE) teaches students about interpersonal and communication skills, exploring options, abstinence, condom use and contraception as the best tool to help avoid STDs and reduce unintended pregnancies. Abstinence-only sex education (AOE), on the other hand, emphasizes that abstinence is the morally correct option and averts from discussing controversial sexual health topics, condom use and contraceptives. However, research has shown that AOE programs have not reduced the onset of sexual activity (Kirby, 2007), unintended teen pregnancies (Stanger-Hall & Hall, 2011), or STDs (Brückner & Bearman,