Physical Wellness

High School Sex Ed Educating Students About Rape Prevention

By Kanika Gupta | Update Date: Nov 24, 2015 12:16 PM EST

The face of sex education in many American high schools is changing rapidly to include the protocol of seeking a permission and giving consent during intimacy. "Yes means yes" is the standard affirmation that the people must seek from their partner. After the college campuses, the affirmative consent standard is now being taught in high schools and also some middle schools so that the educators can teach the students how to overcome sexual violence. "Yes means Yes" translates to consensual intimacy that should take place only when both the partners are sober and clearly willing to participate through voluntary affirmation. California is the first state in US that has mandated the "yes means yes" instruction in the public high schools, reports Herald Bulletin.

With this move, the sex education in the American schools is looking at a paradigm shift and is moving beyond the slideshows on reproductive biology and lectures that help avoid pregnancy and STDs. The focus has instead been shifted to teach students an importance of seeking consent for sexual encounters. Many groups promote abstinence and celibacy believe that the high-schoolers are not yet ready for this kind of education. They worry that the effort to prevent the assaults will plant the idea that sex is ok, into the curious mind of teenagers. "In the midst of this conversation, are the root causes being addressed? I would argue that they really aren't," Valerie Huber, president of Ascend, formerly called the National Abstinence Education Association, said. "This discussion is getting reduced to a palliation rather than a solution," as reported by The Times Record

The meaning of mutual consent in college campus is being redefined by the activists that were reportedly raped by the students in their college. However, even the children and teens in schools are not immune from the dangers of sexual assaults, reports Monterey Herald.

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics