You’ve likely seen the headlines: Adolescents Receiving Less Sex Ed Than 25 Years Ago. Teens Not Receiving Enough Sex Education. Adolescents Doomed Because Sex Ed Is So Darn Underwhelming. (That last one is mine. It represents the thoughts screaming through my head.)
Just this past November, researchers published a paper in the Journal of Adolescent Health that compared changes in sex ed based upon the data from the 2011-2015 and 2015-2019 National Survey of Family Growth. They found that only about half of the adolescents represented in the surveys received sex education that meets the minimum standard set in current national goals, many not even receiving lessons on sexuality until after they’ve already had sex.
On top of that, young people today are less likely to receive instruction on key sex education topics like birth control and consent than they were 25 years ago.