{"id":6766,"date":"2021-01-25T12:31:31","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T17:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/?p=6766"},"modified":"2021-09-07T15:23:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T19:23:35","slug":"rethinking-sex-ed-for-the-metoo-moment-a-hugely-significant-study-shows-that-strengthening-education-on-relationships-consent-can-change-the-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/2021\/01\/25\/rethinking-sex-ed-for-the-metoo-moment-a-hugely-significant-study-shows-that-strengthening-education-on-relationships-consent-can-change-the-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Sex Ed for the #MeToo Moment: A \u2018Hugely Significant\u2019 Study Shows That Strengthening Education on Relationships & Consent Can Change the Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By:<\/strong> Laura Fay<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher:<\/strong> the74million.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date:<\/strong> April 1, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maeve Sanford-Kelly was in middle school in 2016 when\u00a0Bill Cosby<\/a>,\u00a0Brock Turner<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Access Hollywood tape<\/a>\u00a0associated with then-candidate Donald Trump dominated headlines. Distraught but motivated, she worked with her mom, Maryland state lawmaker Ariana Kelly, to write and pass\u00a0legislation<\/a>\u00a0requiring students to learn about consent in middle and high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t our schools teach us that this is not how we treat people?\u201d she asked lawmakers at a hearing<\/a> for her bill last year, which initially failed but went into effect last summer. \u201cWe cannot spend one more day allowing people to grow up and continue this culture of predatory behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2016, the #MeToo movement has exploded, toppling dozens of powerful people for allegations of sexual harassment and assault. That movement is affecting classrooms too, as lawmakers and educators look to teach students about consent and how to refuse unwanted sexual advances. However, what students learn varies widely across the country, and adults disagree about what sex education should include.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts say that more comprehensive sex education could change the culture in the United States by preparing students for healthy relationships and preventing sexual violence. A new study<\/a> shows that learning refusal skills can protect students from later sexual assaults, which researchers say indicates that improving sex ed should be the next step for the #MeToo movement \u2014 a way to both protect students from being victimized and prevent them from perpetrating assaults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf administered properly, sex education that\u2019s comprehensive has a unique power to really create a culture shift in this country,\u201d said Jennifer Driver, state policy director at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a nonprofit that advocates for comprehensive sex education. RELATEDJust 24 States Mandate Sex Education for K-12 Students, and Only 9 Require Any Discussion of Consent. See How Your State Stacks Up<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sex education\u2019s \u2018revolutionary\u2019 power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it differs so widely from classroom to classroom, the power of sex education is largely going untapped, said Nora Gelperin, director of sexuality education and training at Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit organization that presses for comprehensive sex ed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese days, kids are really lucky if they receive good quality sex education, because so many do not,\u201d Gelperin told The 74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her organization defines<\/a> quality sex education as \u201cinformation about sex, sexuality, relationships, contraception and condoms, and how to protect yourself and plan your future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSex education done well, high-quality sex education, is really pretty revolutionary in terms of helping people feel good about their bodies, understanding how to have healthy intimate relationships,\u201d Gelperin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research backs her up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent study that one expert called \u201chugely significant,\u201d researchers at Columbia University found that students who had received refusal skills training were about 50 percent less likely to experience penetrative sexual assault when they got to a college campus. Abstinence-only education did not have the same effect, according to their survey results published in November<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It just makes sense that better sex ed would result in better outcomes for students, John Santelli<\/a>, the lead author on the study, told The 74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, learning refusal skills \u201cbefore you\u2019re in a charged situation\u201d \u2014 such as a college dorm room after a night of drinking \u2014 will help students know how to react, Santelli said. \u201cGetting prepared ahead of time always makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 54 percent of students surveyed said they had learned refusal skills before they arrived on campus, most of them as part of comprehensive sex education in middle and high school. However, the researchers note that students \u201cgenerally described sex ed as awkward and focused on STIs, HIV, and pregnancy and contraception (mostly condoms).\u201d Experts say sex ed varies widely across the country and truly comprehensive programs are rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Columbia study was the first to analyze a possible relationship between sex education and sexual violence. The researchers concluded that explicitly learning refusal skills was a protective factor. Other factors such as adverse childhood experiences, gender and sexual orientation also affect risk of assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstinence-only education, often called sexual risk avoidance, did not have the same effect in the Columbia study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Mary Anne Mosack, an advocate for sexual risk avoidance, said that approach has included consent and refusal skills for decades. Mosack is president of Ascend<\/a>, an organization that advocates for sexual risk avoidance education and trains educators to teach it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually not a new concept, but it\u2019s a very useful one and one that we\u2019ve employed for many years,\u201d Mosack said about refusal skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture shift<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paired with the growing #MeToo movement, the Columbia report could shift the culture around sex education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just recently really started to move into a culture where we\u2019re identifying that sexual assault and violence prevention should be a part of sex education,\u201d said Driver of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way adults view teen sexuality could also change as a result of the study, historian Jonathan Zimmerman<\/a> told The 74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the survey was limited to current students at Columbia University and Barnard College ages 18 to 29<\/a>, the findings are \u201chugely significant\u201d and \u201cincredibly promising\u201d in part because the existing research on sex ed is narrow, according to Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education who has written a book<\/a> about the global history of sex education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is obviously much more attention to the question of consent, and I think that could have some very dramatic consequences, because it could \u2026 signal a new acceptance of young people as sexual beings, as sexual actors,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t talk about somebody sexually consenting really unless you imagine them as a sexual actor. I think consent implies that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous iterations of sex ed mostly focused on telling students what to do and what not to do, rather than giving them information to make their own decisions, Zimmerman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#MeToo could change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sex education frameworks that mostly focus on risk avoidance and preventing things like pregnancy and HIV do not consider students as having much agency in their sex lives, Zimmerman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the one hand, the #MeToo moment and everything that attaches to it has honestly led to more demand for instruction about that subject, about consent, about boundaries, about sexual autonomy, and so what that suggests is \u2026 more attention on the question of teens as sexual actors,\u201d he told The 74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Zimmerman added, increasing diversity can make it more difficult for communities to come to a consensus about what school discussions of sex should look like for their kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I do expect there to be more attention to this issue,\u201d Zimmerman said, \u201cbut I also expect there to be more pushback.\u201dRELATEDWith an Eye Toward Consent, Students Seize the Moment to Overhaul Sex Ed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competing approaches to sex ed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a growing movement for more comprehensive sex education is taking hold in the #MeToo era, its impact is spotty around the nation. States and communities take wildly different approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSex education still remains a real patchwork with really big variability not only from state to state\u201d but also within districts and schools, Gelperin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 24 states require sex education. Of those, just 10 require that instruction be medically accurate, according to the Guttmacher Institute<\/a>, a research center focused on advancing reproductive rights. Twenty-six states don\u2019t mandate sex education at all, though three require that sex education be medically accurate if it is taught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat the research shows pretty clearly is abstinence-only [education] doesn\u2019t result in lower rates of teen pregnancy, lower rates of teen sexual activity \u2014 it\u2019s not effective in promoting abstinence. In fact, a more comprehensive approach achieves those goals,\u201d said Catherine Brown, a researcher at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A report<\/a> published in 2017 by the Journal of Adolescent Health states that \u201cabstinence-only-until-marriage programs\u201d are \u201cscientifically and ethically flawed\u201d and urges the United States to end them in favor of \u201cmedically accurate, evidence-based, and scientifically justified approaches to sexuality education for young people.\u201d (One of the authors of the report was John Santelli, the lead investigator on the Columbia study.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other side of the debate, advocates for sexual risk avoidance education, sometimes called abstinence-only, argue that their approach mirrors<\/a> that used to discourage students from underage drinking and using illegal drugs and point to \u201csuccess sequencing<\/a>\u201d \u2014 completing education, getting a full-time job, getting married and only then having children \u2014 as a proven way<\/a> to guard against poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown said the evidence is clear that comprehensive sex ed programs are more effective than abstinence-only ones at delaying teen sex and preventing unwanted pregnancy. But, she added, the goals of both types of programs are usually the same \u2014 to delay sexual activity and prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the question of how to teach kids about sex remains controversial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t bring out such hot feelings because there really are evidence-based answers to these questions, but sometimes it does,\u201d Brown told The 74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both camps claim parent support for their ideas. A majority of American adults have consistently supported comprehensive sex ed in schools, according to\u00a0polling data<\/a>\u00a0compiled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. However, a\u00a0survey<\/a>\u00a0commissioned by Ascend found in 2016 that 71 percent of Americans think sex education should give students \u201ca message that uses practical skills to reinforce waiting for sex.\u201d Support for a focus on abstinence increased when respondents were informed that \u201ca majority of teens are not sexually active.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/rethinking-sex-ed-for-the-metoo-moment-a-hugely-significant-study-shows-that-strengthening-education-on-relationships-consent-can-change-the-culture\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment:<\/strong> I believe this article does a nice job of emphasizing one thing to the readers. Teens going through Sex Education truly are autonomous and free agents in their own lives. They are more grown up than what we perceive them to be and they desire proper education. I think this affects our work, because it shows us that we can design a program that is mature and still expect teens to understand it and adopt its values if they find it valid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Laura Fay Publisher: the74million.org Date: April 1, 2019 Maeve Sanford-Kelly was in middle school in 2016 when\u00a0Bill Cosby,\u00a0Brock Turner\u00a0and the\u00a0Access Hollywood tape\u00a0associated with then-candidate Donald Trump dominated headlines. Distraught but motivated, she worked with her mom, Maryland state lawmaker Ariana Kelly, to write and pass\u00a0legislation\u00a0requiring students to learn about consent in middle and high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":6767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6766"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6768,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6766\/revisions\/6768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}