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Louisiana does not have a mandate for sex education. This means that students are often deprived of information about consent, abortions, non-heteronormative sex, and contraceptive methods. In addition, sex education instructors often emphasize primarily abstinence. Sex education in Louisiana is not only lacking substance, but it can also be shame-inducing.
Teenagers in Louisiana have been struggling to receive sex education for decades. Many students in Louisiana explain that sex education teachers shame students for having sex. One common activity that incites shame is the spit in the cup activity. A sex education teacher gives students a cup, and tells them all to spit into it. At the end of the activity, the teacher asks if anyone would drink from this cup. The teacher then says to the females in the classroom: “This is what your body looks like to men if you have sex before marriage.” One student said:
The idea that abstinence eliminates the possibility of any problems was forced into us. It was all I was taught, so for a while, I believed it. Sex education has the opportunity to educate so many students instead of hounding past traditional expectations that shame and scare young students.
Louisiana suffers from the negative repercussions of hiding biological facts from its teenagers. Louisiana is ranked 44th in the United States for the highest “number of births among females ages 15-19.” In addition, according to a 2018 report by the CDC, Louisiana has the second-highest rate of chlamydia, fifth-highest rate of gonorrhea, and the third-highest rate of congenital syphilis. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and congenital syphilis are all sexually transmitted diseases. Sex education could help people learn how to identify symptoms of STIs and get treatment before harm occurs.
Sex education is essential to lowering the rate of STI’s in Louisiana according to Alex Billioux, the assistant secretary for public health at the Louisiana Department of Health. Billioux said “if you look at the south, where we have the majority of these problems, we don’t want to talk about it,” and that is why Louisiana has some of the highest rates of STIs in the entire country.
Comprehensive sex education provides teachers with an opportunity to teach young people about healthy relationships and about signs that a relationship is becoming abusive. Fact-based sex education could prevent more than just STIs and pregnancies, it could also help teens recognize red flags of toxic relationships. The increase in reports of domestic violence during the COVID-19 quarantine reminds us of the value of teaching about healthy and unhealthy relationships.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can help change Louisiana’s lack of comprehensive sex education, go to#MyLASexEd website and Instagram page. The #MyLASexEd campaign captures stories from Louisiana students to educate decision-makers about the importance of providing young people with the information they need in order to have safe and healthy relationships.
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