To analyze bisexual female perspectives of their experiences accessing sexual health information and services provided by schools and health providers.
Heteronormative information.
A majority of the research reported the content of the sexual health education offered in schools was heteronormative, the belief that heterosexuality and binary gender are the norms, and the intercourse discussed was penile-vaginal intercourse ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; K. S. Hall et al., 2016 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Rasberry et al., 2017 ; Steinke et al., 2017 ). The lessons primarily consisted of information about puberty, the dangers of sex, penile-vaginal intercourse, STIs, and pregnancy; information the GSMY in the studies reported as irrelevant to them ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). Of the 13 studies, eight mentioned students being taught about external condoms, one mentioned internal condoms, 1 discussed students being shown a condom demonstration and none reported information being given on dental dams or finger condoms. ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; K. S. Hall et al., 2016 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Rasberry et al., 2017 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). In seven of the studies, participants reported their questions regarding gender identity or sexual orientation went unanswered in class. This was due to the teacher ignoring the question, the teacher lacking the information to answer, or the teacher not being allowed to answer due to school and state policy ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; K. S. Hall et al., 2016 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Mahdi et al., 2014 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ; Steinke et al., 2017 ).
Supplying only heteronormative education contributed to poorer mental outcomes for GSMY. Non-heterosexual, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming individuals and their behavior were often pathologized in the education presented, leading to internalized homophobia, increased depression, increased anxiety, and self-loathing in GSMY ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ; Steinke et al., 2017 ). The exclusion of information about gender and sexual minorities made GSMY feel confused about how they were feeling, made them feel something was wrong with them and made them feel like they did not exist ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Rasberry et al., 2017 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). Lack of GSMY-inclusive information also led to an increase in bullying of GSMY in schools from both students and teachers ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; W. J. Hall et al., 2019 ; McCarty-Caplan, 2015 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). Numerous studies described a decrease in bullying of GSMY in schools with GSMY-inclusive education, potentially due to a normalizing non-heterosexual, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming individuals, ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Proulx et al., 2019 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ).
The negative impact an incomplete sex education had on GSMY health was a common theme in the literature ( Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ). Many of the lessons taught in school only covered the “mechanics” of penile-vaginal intercourse and the problems that can occur from that action, with few reporting receiving lessons about other types of sex (anal, oral, manual, masturbation), healthy relationships, consent, or the enjoyment of sex ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). No studies reported information being taught on transgender identity, non-binary identity, or use of proper pronouns ( Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ).
Several authors discussed inaccurate information being offered to students in schools ( Haley et al., 2019 ; K. S. Hall et al., 2016 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ). Hobaica and Kwon (2017) reported in 2016 only 20 states required sexual health information provided to students in school to be medically accurate. Inaccurate information given to youth included inflated failure rates of condoms and birth control, inaccurate information on the transmission of STIs, and inaccurate representation of gender and sexual minority individuals ( Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ; Steinke et al., 2017 ). Lack of information and inaccurate information contributed to GSMY making uninformed decisions about sex, leading to increased sexual experiences, increased number of partners, non-consensual sexual experiences, unprotected sex, sex while intoxicated, STIs, and pregnancy ( Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Rasberry et al., 2017 ).
The timing of education being offered to students occurred in middle school and high school ( Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ). For some GSMY this information came too late to be helpful. Sexual minority youth report earlier initiation into sex and many received sex education after they had already become sexually active leading to early risky sexual behaviors and pregnancy ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ). Gender minority and non-binary individuals recommended that information about gender and puberty start as early as 1 st and 2 nd grade to help with the problems associated with gender dysphoria.
There were many recommendations included in the literature on how to make sexual health education more inclusive and appropriate for GSMY. To be relevant to all students sexual health education must be inclusive of all genders and sexual orientations and it is important that affirming gender and sexuality inclusive language and pronouns are used when describing different subgroups of GSMY ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ; Rasberry et al., 2017 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ; Steinke et al., 2017 ). It is important that the education provided be medically accurate and cover different types of sex acts, not just penile-vaginal intercourse, include information on the type of protection needed to have safe sex based on the sexual act being performed, and local resources where it can be obtained ( Arbeit et al., 2016 ; Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). Education should also include information on medical and non-medical gender-affirming interventions, information on relationships, consent, and reputable resources for healthcare and sexual health information ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). There was a reported need for inclusion of historical gender and sexual minority individuals in the core curriculum. This would allow GSMY to have role models and would allow others could see gender and sexual minority individuals in a different light ( Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ).
This paper reviewed how sexual health education has been presented in schools over the past ten years. All studies reported participants receiving some form of sexual health education in school. However, the education presented was almost exclusively heteronormative and exclusive to GSMY needs leaving them feeling left out and lacking the information they needed to better understand themselves and make informed sexual health decisions ( Bodnar & Tornello, 2019 ; Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Rasberry et al., 2017 ).
School administrators need to be aware of the specific sexual health needs of GSMY and tailor education to meet the needs of all the students, not only cisgender, heterosexual students. Providing comprehensive GSMY-inclusive education improves the physical and mental health outcomes of all youth and decreases bullying of GSMY in school ( Hobaica et al., 2019 , 2019 ; Human Rights Campaign, 2015 ; Proulx et al., 2019 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). GSMY-inclusive education has been shown to decrease negative mental health outcomes and bullying by normalize the LGBT experience ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Proulx et al., 2019 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ) and potentially decrease pregnancy and STI rates, and increase the use of condoms and the age of sexual debut ( Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Pingel et al., 2013 ). If school administrators are unable to provide GSMY-inclusive sex education due to policy at the local or state level, it is important to offer vetted outside resources for students and to work with politicians to change these stigmatizing laws ( W. J. Hall et al., 2019 ; Human Rights Campaign, 2015 ; Steinke et al., 2017 ).
The needs of students should take precedent when creating sexual health education programs. Administration, faculty, and staff should be educated on the needs of GSMY. Curricula presented to students in schools must be evidence-based and facilitated by trained LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) affirming educators ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Human Rights Campaign, 2015 ; Steinke et al., 2017 ).
This review is not without limitations. The search databases used were health and medical and not educational in nature due to the author examining the physical and mental health aspects of sex education on GSMY. The number of articles included was small and more may have been included had educational databases been used. MeSH terms were not used in the search as they had a limiting effect on the results. Lastly, there is very little research on the long-term benefits of GSMY-inclusive sex education in the United States. One of the reasons for this is there is no consistent sex education offered to students, with instructional content often being based on state, local, mandate or teacher preference.
This review indicated that schools are still presenting sexual health education exclusive of gender and sexual minority needs. Sex education is a public health necessity, allowing individuals to make informed decisions concerning their sexual health and wellbeing, and GSMY are being overlooked, leading to poorer mental and physical health outcomes ( Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014 ; Haley et al., 2019 ; Hobaica et al., 2019 ; Hobaica & Kwon, 2017 ; Rasberry et al., 2017 ; Roberts et al., 2019 ). Sex education in schools needs to be medically accurate, affirming, and reflect all genders and sexual orientations to help reduce health disparities and increase the quality of life for GSMY. Future research should focus on strategies to implement comprehensive and GSMY-inclusive sex education in schools to evaluate its impact on the health and wellness of all youth.
Our arrests were related to our exploitation and criminal record relief must be available and accessible to survivors. congress should pass the trafficking survivors relief act now..
As a survivor of familial trafficking, I grew up believing what was happening to me was normal. When I got away, I didn’t know there was a name for what I experienced or where to go for help. Since then, much has changed in the anti-trafficking world. The public is more aware of both the crime and service providers, including here in Kentucky , who understand trauma and help survivors work through to the other side.
But further change is needed – especially creating opportunities for trafficking survivors to clear criminal records that resulted from our trafficking experiences. One example is the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act , which would create the first pathway for record relief at the federal level.
I know the need for this relief from personal experience. In my case, I was forced to write bad checks as a teenager and forged checks on my trafficker’s account. As a young adult, I ended up with 15 felony charges from my trafficking and spent two years in prison. Then I struggled to find a job. My record often disqualified me during background checks. When I would make it to an interview, I didn’t know what I would have to disclose about my trafficking and having to explain everything frustrated and embarrassed me.
The truth about Pornhub: She took on world's largest porn site for profiting off child abuse. She's winning.
Eventually, I was able to secure employment in restaurants that didn’t ask about my background. I was grateful for these jobs, but they couldn’t sustain me – I wasn’t getting benefits like health insurance, and the physical work and the process of healing from trauma took a toll.
I tried to advance my job prospects with more education, but employers still wouldn’t look past my background. This experience drove me into addiction to avoid thinking about how difficult life was. I felt stuck.
Trafficking victim faces prison time: Judge sends sex trafficking victim who fought back to prison. How is that justice?
So many survivors face the same insurmountable barrier. According to the National Survivor Study, 42% of survivors have criminal records , with 90% reporting that some or all of our arrests were related to our exploitation. We struggle to get housing, work and education – and some of us are forced to resort to illegal activity or even return to an abuser.
To stop that from happening, criminal record relief must be available and accessible to survivors.
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At the federal level, Congress should pass the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (TSRA) now. At the state level, lawmakers can introduce or improve relief statutes, and ensure that survivors benefit from existing laws , such as Kentucky’s. Legislation like the TSRA gives us hope that we can move forward from what we have survived to a place where we can heal and thrive.
That’s what I’m hoping for myself. Now over a decade since completing parole, I’ve been able to pass background checks and begin working as a cashier.
I’m going back to school to finish my degree to fulfill my dream of becoming a therapist to help others. And I’m advocating for criminal record relief – the chance for survivors to secure employment, take care of our families and live healthy and productive lives.
A Kentucky resident, Sonia Martin is a fun-loving, people person who enjoys living life. She also enjoys helping others and learning from everyone. This column originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal .
You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page , on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter .
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Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) "plays a central role in the preparation of young people for a safe, productive, fulfilling life" (p. 12) [17] and adolescents who receive comprehensive sex education are more likely to delay their sexual debut, as well as to use contraception during sexual initiation [18].
Relationships and sex education (RSE) has become increasingly popular topic for research as evidenced in the publication of several previous literature overviews, scoping and/or systematic reviews, all differing in focus and scope. Such reviews are possible only when a field has achieved a critical mass of information for synthesis.
School-based sex education plays a vital role in the sexual health and well-being of young people. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of efforts beyond pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention. The authors conducted a systematic literature review of three decades of research on school-based programs to find evidence for the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education.
Sex education has the potential to help generations with awareness and utilization of their sexual rights and promoting their sexual well-being. Research in India has unfortunately been sparse in this area. 16 More evidence base is needed for the effects of CSE on sexual violence and gender equity in this country.
The limitations in the quality of research in sex education have been highlighted by several authors in the past two decades (Kirby and Baxter, 1981; Card and Reagan, 1989; Kirby, 1989; Peersman et al., 1996). Due to these deficits in the quality of research—which resulted in a reduced number of studies that met the criteria for inclusion and ...
This paper's aim is to stimulate research in sex education and sexual violence perpetration by connecting these previously separate bodies of research (Figure 1), all of which already had systematic reviews and analyses. A further limitation is the focus here on cisgender, heterosexual men and women.
For more than four decades, sex education has been a critically important but contentious public health and policy issue in the United States [1-5].Rising concern about nonmarital adolescent pregnancy beginning in the 1960s and the pandemic of HIV/AIDS after 1981 shaped the need for and acceptance of formal instruction for adolescents on life-saving topics such as contraception, condoms, and ...
School-based sex education in the U.S. is at a crossroads. The United Nations defines sex education as a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality [1]. Over many years, sex education has had strong support among both parents [2] and health professionals [3-6], yet the receipt of sex education among U.S ...
Sex education in the United States is limited in both its content and the measures used to collect data on what is taught. The risk-reduction framework that guides the teaching of sex education in the United States focuses almost exclusively on avoiding unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, overlooking other critical topics such as the information and skills needed to form ...
In academic debates on sex education, an important opposition has arisen between those that regard sex education as a health intervention (Schaalma et al., 2004), and those that counter the depoliticized rhetoric of health (Bay-Cheng, 2017).This article contributes to understanding sexuality education beyond health effects or critique, through exploring sex education in school spaces.
Abstract. This paper reviewed 33 empirical studies which assessed the effectiveness of sex education. Methodological issues were considered within six sections: (a) populations, (b) instructors ...
Adolescence, a period of physical, social, cognitive and emotional development, represents a target population for sexual health promotion and education when it comes to achieving the 2030 Agenda goals for sustainable and equitable societies. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of what is known about the dissemination and effectiveness of sex education programs and thereby to ...
Sex education for youth in the United States has been the topic of considerable debate among researchers, policy makers, and the public at large. In this study, we focus attention on federal funding for more comprehensive sex education that was received by a mix of public and private organizations in 55 US counties.
Keywords: sexuality education, sexual well-being, instructional design, program evaluation . Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more ...
This presents that majority of the senior high school students have no sexual partners with a frequency of 684 out of 846 and a mean percentage of 80.85. Moreover, there are 93 (10%) respondents who had 1-2 sexual partners followed by. 45 (5.32%) who had 3-5 and lastly 24 (2.84%) who had more than 5 sexual partners. 3.
Purpose. School-based sex education plays a vital role in the sexual health and well-being of young people. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of efforts beyond pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention. The authors conducted a systematic literature review of three decades of research on school-based programs to find ...
Purpose: School-based sex education plays a vital role in the sexual health and well-being of young people. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of efforts beyond pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention. The authors conducted a systematic literature review of three decades of research on school-based programs to find evidence for the effectiveness of comprehensive ...
The National Guidelines were updated in 2020 to reflect recent developments, research advancements, and current thinking on a number of topics related to sexuality education (Future of Sex Education Initiative, 2020). Specifically, the updated edition reflects the belief that CSE should be inclusive, intersectional, and trauma-informed.
On sexuality education, as with all other issues, WHO provides guidance for policies and programmes based on extensive research evidence and programmatic experience. The UN global guidance on sexuality education outlines a set of learning objectives beginning at the age of 5. These are intended to be adapted to a country's local context and ...
Students exhibited increased normalization of lesbian and gay people, a reduction in stereotyping about gender expression and norms for lesbian and gay women and men, empathy for those who come out, an appreciation for the positive. Child sex abuse. N=16. Healthy relationships N=8 Dating and Interpersonal Violence.
Sex education and stigma. Having multiple partners or anonymous sex is less of an issue if older adults use prevention tools to protect themselves against STIs, experts said. The problem is they ...
1.1. Sex Education. Sex education refers to "an age-appropriate, culturally relevant approach to teaching about sex and relationships by providing scientifically accurate, realistic, non-judgmental information" [] (p. 69).This definition acknowledges that the aim of sex education extends beyond the transfer of knowledge on human physiology, reproductive system, or the prevention of STIs.
Purpose: School-based sex education plays a vital role in the sexual health and well-being of young people. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of efforts beyond pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention. The authors conducted a systematic literature review of three decades of research on school-based programs to find evidence for the effectiveness of comprehensive ...
An actor from the hit Netflix show Sex Education has claimed he was pepper sprayed and kicked by police who 'racially profiled' him as he made his way home from performing in a musical. Reece Richards, who played Eugene in Sex Education, accused the Met police of 'racially profiling him ...
Significance of the Topic. Despite the effectiveness of comprehensive sexual health education in increasing sexual health outcomes in heterosexual youth, little research has been done on its effects on GSMY (Human Rights Campaign, 2015; Kosciw et al., 2018; Steinke et al., 2017).The sex education offered in schools primarily describes penile-vaginal intercourse and does not include information ...
I tried to advance my job prospects with more education, but employers still wouldn't look past my background. This experience drove me into addiction to avoid thinking about how difficult life was.