Running head: Educacin Sexual page 1

Educacin Sexual
Josh Robinson
SLCC ETHS 2430













Educacin Sexual page 2
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present an issue that exists among the Latina youth living
in the United States. This paper will clearly present facts describing why this is an issue.
Furthermore, the paper will address several solutions to the problem. In addition, this paper will
explore the costs of the solutions presented. Finally, this paper will describe the overall
experience of the investigation of this issue.














Educacin Sexual page 3
Educacin Sexual
Teens are sexually active. In the United States teens of Hispanic origin are not only
sexually active, but are more likely to not use any sort of contraceptive. The effects of this can be
devastating to individuals and families. Consequences include, but are not limited to, higher rates
of pregnancy, greater risk of sharing and receiving sexually transmitted diseases, and higher rates
of depression among those teens who are sexually active. We will present facts and statistics
showing to as why this issue needs to be addressed. We will explore the major factors to this
problem. Additionally, we will explore several options of how these issues can be addressed.
Finally, we will conclude by describing the overall experience of the production of this paper.
In a report produced by the United States Government Center for Disease Control and
Prevention we come to find out why there is such an issue among teens from Hispanic origin.
The report clearly describes that teens from Hispanic origin are not actively using any form of
contraceptives. Specifically, the report mentions that 41.1% of sexually active Latina teens
between the ages of 15-24 did not use any form of contraceptive. This was the highest
percentage among the three characteristic categories of Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, and non-
Hispanic-black. Furthermore, the same statistic showed that the percentage of those Latina teens
who are sexually active for the same ages who used a form of contraceptive 100% of the time
was 47.2%. The lowest of the characteristic categories
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics.htm- table 22). So, what can we learn from this
statistic? This is showing that Latina teens are not onl sexually active, but those who are having
sex are not using any form of contraceptive. They have the highest percent not using and of those
who are using they have the lowest percent of those using.
Educacin Sexual page 4
Additional information was obtained from the same report showing that the Latina teens
also have a higher frequency of intercourse. Teens from ages 15-19 and who have ever had
sexual intercourse and the percent of frequency showed that Latinas had the highest rate of
frequency of sexual intercourse. Specifically, it showed that those who had sex 1 time, 2-3 times,
and 8 or more times were the highest percentages among the characteristic categories of
Hispanic, Non-Hispanic white, and Non-Hispanic black. What was even more shocking was the
fact that of the teens that were sexually active the highest of all of the categories were the Latina
teens with a frequency of 8 or more times of having sex in the past 4 weeks
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics.htm- table 1). So, not only are Latinas having sex,
they are having sex more frequently. And as we saw previously, Latinas are not using any form
of contraceptive. Why? Some say that it is because they cant afford it. Others might say because
they dont know how to do it or where to find it. Or maybe it is because they are embarrassed to
tell their partner that they would like to use contraceptives.
These facts show why it is so important to educate todays youth of the risks associated
with sexually activity. It is important for the youth to receive some sort of instruction. The center
for disease control also presented a report showing that Latinas were also the highest percent of
teens who did not receive any form of formal instruction before the age of 18 on how to say no to
sex. Both Latinas and Latinos both reported the highest percent of no instruction. Additionally,
37.8% of Latina teens ages 15-19 reported that they had received no instruction of how to use
birth control prior to turning 18 years old
(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_026.pdf).

Educacin Sexual page 5
This leads us to the conclusion that Latinas are not only sexually active, but they are also
not receiving proper instruction on how to say no to sex and how to properly use birth control.
So, what do we need to do? Educate, educate, and educate. The bottom line is that todays youth
are sexually active! We need to stop kidding ourselves and recognize that something needs to be
done. They are already doing it, why not teach them the proper use of contraceptives and teach
them the risks involved if they decide not to use the contraceptives.
Risks for Latina teens are elevated for adolescents because their brains are not neurally
mature. Studies show that because development of the brain is not fully complete it can affect
self-control, delayed gratification, and risk analysis and appreciation. Furthermore, the brain is
not fully developed until the age of 25. What do we learn from this? That young adolescent
teenagers are generally less equipped than adults to make sound decisions and anticipate
consequences of sexual behavior (Ponton, L., 2001). Obviously, the best form of birth control is
abstinence. But, hopefully by now you can see that many teens are not practicing abstinence and
that they do not understand the consequences associated with unprotected sexually activity.
Unprotected sex leads to unplanned teen pregnancy, higher transmission of sexually
transmitted diseases, and greater rates of depression among sexually active teens. While some
reports show that teen pregnancy is on the decline, the United States of America remains the
country with the highest teen age birth rate in the developed world ( http://www.unicef-
irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf). Why is it that in one of the most socially advanced
countries on the planet has one of the highest percentages of teen pregnancies in the world? I
would contest that it is due mainly to lack of sex education.
Educacin Sexual page 6
Those who oppose sex education in our public school systems need to wake up. Latinas,
among the youth of America, are having sex and are doing so unprotected. Why? Because they
have not been taught the consequences of their actions. Yeah, we can teach abstinence, but they
are not being abstinent. Let us stop arguing about why or why not we should include sex
education as part of the curriculum in schools and figure out how we can teach the Latina teens
how to practice safe sex and the risks that they might face if they decide not to practice safe sex.
Additionally, to provide resources for those who might feel embarrassed to purchase
contraceptives in order to perform safe sex. We have created several solutions to help fix these
issues.
The first solution we have is to teach the parents. The cost for this program would
literally be zero. People have talked about public meetings where parents could go and learn how
to teach their kids about sex, but we all know that parents arent going to go if they are not
required. So, lets make it required- in a way. For this paper, we interviewed a stake-holder that
gave us a great idea that could help address the very issue of the lack of Sex Education among
the Latina teens of today. Mr. Spencer-Wise is a teacher in a local high school and presented an
idea of creating a system to help teach ALL parents how to talk to their children about sex. His
idea was to make it part of Parent-Teacher Conferences. What a great idea. His idea includes
having parents take a one on one training session with a certified-licensed teacher to learn how to
talk to their kids about sex. All students have to take a health class in order to graduate high
school; so, that would mean that all parents will eventually have to visit that teacher who is in
charge of teaching their children during Parent-Teacher Conferences. This would be a great time

Educacin Sexual page 7
for the parents to ask questions about how to address their children about sex and for the teacher
to present information about current statistics and methods of teaching.
The second solution to this issue is to address the children in alternative methods. We
asked ourselves, What is it today that is most associated with todays youth? We know that the
youth of today are more socially active through such methods as the internet, cell phones, and the
world of apps. So, a second method of confronting the issue would be to create several social
aspects that would help the youth of today find help and resources about sex education. We
know that in some circumstances parents will not always be able to attend Parent-Teacher
Conference, and even if they do attend some parents might be against teaching their children
about sex and only stick to the good old fashioned abstinence message. We have created a
Facebook page showing how easy it would be to create and run a page dedicated to sex
education for kids and parents. The URL for the Facebook page that we created is:
www.facebook.com/thehippitydippity. Please log on and like- help spread the word.
Sites like the one that we have created are very easy to create and literally cost no money
to begin. Other sources like twitter and Instagram can also be utilized for the same cause. The
goal here is to go where the youth are and to show them to not be afraid to talk with someone
about sex. Sometimes, they can feel embarrassed to talk to someone about sex, especially their
own parents. That is we have decided to show how easy it can be to create a social site where
they can obtain information. Remember- educate, educate, educate.
The last solution that we have created is a motion to install condom vending machines in
public high schools. Just wait before you make any sort of judgment, just think about it. We
Educacin Sexual page 8
know that kids are doing it- that is no longer the question. The question now is how can we help
prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned teen pregnancy? If you oppose this idea,
please think for a moment of a child. Maybe he/she is your own son or daughter or maybe a
niece or nephew. Now think about how your life or the life of that child might change if they
were to become pregnant during their teen years and or if they were to contract a sexually
transmitted disease. I think that we all would agree that if there was something that we could do
to prevent it, we would! That is why I propose to install a condom vending machine in both
mens and womens locker rooms in all public high schools and maybe even junior high or
middle schools.
The cost to implement this program would be minimal and potentially nothing. After
investigating the cost of condom vending machines we calculated how much it would cost to
install them into an entire district of high schools. In a local high school district, the Canyons
School District contains 5 high schools and to install 2 machines per school it would cost $1,290.
Potentially, through contacting the big condom companies, such as Durex or Trojan, we could
present an idea of allowing those companies to maintain and operate the machines and allow the
company to remain with the profits of any items sold.
In conclusion, Latina teens, among the youth of America, need help. They do not know
the risks of their sexually activity. This is due to lack of proper education. Through teaching
parents at parent teacher conferences, going to where the teens are socially, and providing
discreet methods to obtain contraceptives without being embarrassed will all help confront the
issues at hand.
Educacin Sexual page 9
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_026.pdf

Ponton. L., (2001)
Sex lives of teenagers, Plume

UNICEF (2001)
A league Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations pdf

I nterviews:
Mr. Specer-Wise- Teacher at Alta High School. Teaches Spanish and is in charge of
helping with the club named Latinos in Action.
Kenia Flores- Latina teen that got pregnant at the age of 15. Spoke to her struggles from
becoming pregnant as a teenager.