The Necessity of Sex Education in Modern Times

The Necessity of Sex Education in Modern Times In today’s era of social media, both sexual assault and sexual harassment have become an issue among teenagers. Both sexual assault and harassment in high school have been an issue for some time, but recently, frequent cases prove that current measures of sex education need to be reconsidered and renovated. A blog in New York Times states that “52 percent of girls said they had been harassed in person, and 36 percent online” while the boys suffer a smaller, but still significant percentage of “35 percent…in person” and “24 percent online” (Ojalvo). The current state of sex education is completely unacceptable as cases of sexual attacks are on the rise, not the decline. The Steubenville case has caused numerous urges to reform the current policy of sex education. Notorious to its stereotype as a shady and wild teenage gathering with little to no regards to legal matters, the party held in the town of Steubenville after a football game contained illegal substances alcohol, marijuana, and a young girl being sexually assaulted. According to New York Times, the party held in the town of Steubenville resulted in “an unconscious girl” being “sexually assaulted over several hours” while bystanders watched the shameful atrocity (Schulten and Cutraro). Had sex education courses been stressed more in the high school, then the members of the football team would have realized how mentally, physically and emotionally unstable a victim of sexual assault would be after such a disgusting act was performed. Equally even disturbing news, New York Times states that a student posted a video “of a student joking about the Steubenville assault” (Schulten and Cutraro). This act was not derived from despite for the girl, but rather ignorance towards the issue of rape and its seriousness. Without sufficient education on the gravity of the situation, the student’s mindless decision cost him his dignity. Had proper sex education been embedded into the minds of these people, then the situations could have been prevented as a whole, thus saving the participants of the football team their future, the young girl her dignity and the student his future goals and dreams. In today’s age of technology, sexual harassment can be traced back to the media. According to WNYC, popular “mainstream” rap artists often “implicitly and explicitly” portray “misogyny” through their lyrics which degenerate the status of women (Choi). What may seem like harmless words actually influence the daily thoughts and actions of young adults. The WNYC article also states that teenagers are deeply “swayed and influenced” and their views towards activities such as “how [they] feel about [their] bodies” which leads to exposure to sexual harassment (Choi). If proper sex education is instilled into the minds of the students, then the media will not have such a negative impact on the students, thus reducing the negative image teens perceive. Sexual harassment is a prominent issue in the nation as of today; it is an issue that can be easily resolved through proper sex education, yet efforts to do so are often overlooked because of already present classes regarding sex education. Studies showing the increase of sexual harassment and assault assert the need for a greater attention regarding this matter. If no attempts are made to fix this situation, then sexual attacks in high school will only exacerbate and the lives of more students will be ruined due to this damaging but easily fixable problem.

Works Cited
Choi, Sinjin. “One Teen’s Take: The Media’s Imprint on Sexual Cyber Bullying.” WNYC. N.p., 10 April 2013. Web. 6 May 2013.
Cutraro, Jennifer and Katherine, Schulten. “Crossing the Line Online: Sexual Harassment and Violence in the Age of Social Media.” New York Times. New York Times, 9 January 2013. Web. 6 May 2013.
Ojalvo, Holly E. “Have You Experienced Sexual Harassment?” New York Times. New York Times, 8 November 2011. Web. 6 May 2013.

Cited: Choi, Sinjin. “One Teen’s Take: The Media’s Imprint on Sexual Cyber Bullying.” WNYC. N.p., 10 April 2013. Web. 6 May 2013. Cutraro, Jennifer and Katherine, Schulten. “Crossing the Line Online: Sexual Harassment and Violence in the Age of Social Media.” New York Times. New York Times, 9 January 2013. Web. 6 May 2013. Ojalvo, Holly E. “Have You Experienced Sexual Harassment?” New York Times. New York Times, 8 November 2011. Web. 6 May 2013.