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Since I could remember, I was always that one friend that would explain basic notions about sexual education to my peers.
I know…a nightmare for most parents. But many of them were simply curious while others stated incorrect facts about sexual relations and sexuality. I carefully, but shamelessly corrected them each time.
Coming from a Hispanic household, my experience and relationship with sexual education was very different from those of my peers. I was extremely lucky to have a family that was open and willing to teach me the necessary things to keep me safe.
Maybe it was my sex therapist aunt who influenced my parents to give me “the talk” at a very young age, but this is not the case at all for most Hispanic families. According to Pew Research, approximately 53 percent of Latino youth in a study claimed to have never discussed sex in their household. This makes sense given that a study revealed 77 percent of Christian — the main religion in Latin America — Hispanic households view sex as a sinful or impure action that should only be done after marriage.
Despite the varying levels of religious presence in Latino households, the taboo behind sex remains stigmatized. This can be extremely dangerous when it comes to sexual health and education for Latino adolescent youth, as they do not have any exposure to this environment and many times are left to learn as they go.
The issue of sexual education in Latino households is not limited to Florida; however, as engaged citizens, we have the ability to initiate revolutionary changes in our children, particularly since Latinos make up 26 percent of our current population. For instance, my 6-12 school in South Florida is composed of 92 percent Latinos, as many schools in Florida are, so it is important to highlight sexual literacy within our community.
It is difficult to digest that “Latina women in the United States are at higher risk for adolescent pregnancy than their non-Latina white counterparts. Latinas are 2.8 times as likely as non-Latina whites to give birth at ages 15–19; overall, they have the highest pregnancy rate and birth rate among all ethnic groups in the United States” (Deardorff).
This statistic shows the repercussions of having sexually uneducated youth in America and around the world.
By providing the Florida educational system a consistent and unbiased curriculum for sexual education, as a community we will be able to prevent many premature pregnancies and promote safer sexual practices within our youth, especially those that are most vulnerable.
In my school — aside from one day in the year during our eighth grade science course — we never received any form of sexual education whatsoever. And many schools in my region are the same way. This must change.
Florida currently does not hold a law that requires schools to teach sex education, and the current health classes do not abide by the National Sex Education Standards. Both middle and high schools need to implement seminars or quarter-long required electives teaching sex education.
If parents have conflicts with these lessons, they would have the option to opt-out their children, but overall adding these classes as a part of the Florida Education System’s curriculum will positively impact students. Sexual education not only promotes safe sex but it encourages adolescents to have healthier relationships and higher self-esteem.
Young people are taught the value of treating everyone — including themselves — with respect and dignity through sex education. These teachings are crucial for assisting youth in becoming healthy adults. Furthermore with the expansion of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which aims to restrict discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in primary schools, and restricts the teaching of sexual education in Florida as the legislature claims that it “Shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction to students in grades 4 through 12 on sexual orientation or gender identity unless such instruction is either expressly required by state academic standards as adopted in Rule 6A-1.09401, F.A.C.”
With the previous lack of sexual education requirements in Florida schools, plus current laws on sexuality and gender, students will continue to be clouded on safe practices and methods for sex for years to come. Therefore, we must alter the current stance and disband the stigma of this vital lesson, we must elect leaders in our education system that would allow for these changes that will impact our community for the better.
Miriam Trujillo
Miriam Trujillo is a rising sophomore at Columbia University interested in health and technology as well as helping those from her community of South Florida.
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