The Importance of Sex Health and Safety by Penelope

The Importance of Sex Health and Safety by Penelope - July 2022 Scholarship Essay

As a rising senior who has made friends with peers as young as 14 and as old as 18, I find that better sex health classes are needed in education. When my 15 year-old friend told me about how terrified she was that she was pregnant, I was concerned. After she further explained her situation I was appalled. She had been consuming all types of teas and trying herbal remedies to try replicating an abortion. All of this because her boyfriend made contact with her vagina without a condom. He did not penetrate her nor did he finish near her. Despite those details she was riddled with anxiety for two weeks. She was potentially putting her body in danger from using “witchy Tik-Tok” remedies (some suggesting consumption of deadly herbs,) because she was not properly taught sex health and safety.
As far as my own experience with sex health classes, I remember the class covering unimportant topics like the scientific words for every private part and sexual activities. Instead of learning to say “erection” instead of “boner,” we should be learning about how to have safe sex, how to practice consent, understanding consent, learning how to avoid an unwanted pregnancy, and who to speak to about these things if we aren’t comfortable talking to our parents.
Teens and young adults are bound to have sex. It is important to teach them how to do it safely rather than teaching them to be afraid of sex and do it in secret. This is why we need educated professionals to teach sex health and safety classes.