SIECUS CURRICULUM REVIEWSex RespectA Fear-Based Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage CurriculumJunior High and Senior High School Students

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SUMMARY: SIECUS REVIEW OF Sex Respect NOT APPROPRIATE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS Religious Undertones “If you belong to a particular religious denomination, seek assistance from your religious leaders on a helpful method of forgiveness and spiritual healing that are available for your teen to restore their relationship with themselves, others and God.” (Sex Respect, Parent Guide, p.70) “Set ending time for your date before you go out. Be home on time. Don’t invite your date in. Lead yourselves not into temptation.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 102) It is not appropriate for an education program in a public school to promote religion or use language that connotes one set of religious beliefs. While Sex Respect attempts to hide its religious background, the curriculum remains patently religious in nature. RELYING ON NEGATIVE MESSAGES Messages of Fear and Shame “There’s No Way to Have Premarital Sex Without Hurting Someone.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 11) “These are simply natural consequences. For example, if you eat spoiled food, you will get sick. If you jump from a tall building, you will be hurt or killed. If you spend more money than you make, your enslavement to debt affects you and those whom you love. If you have sex outside of marriage, there are consequences for you, your partner and society.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 11) “Many young teens who have been brought up with principles and values may have already decided they want to save sex for marriage.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 36) “Many men and women still prefer to marry virgins, so you don’t want to lose out on a future with someone special just because you didn’t say ‘no’ to premarital sex.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 73) The focus on consequences is clearly designed to scare students rather than educate them. Sex Respect then sets up a dichotomy between abstinent teens who have self-control, dignity, and can enjoy a healthy life and their sexually active peers who are selfish, damaged, and unlikely to succeed. Almost half (47%) of all high school students report having engaged in sexual intercourse. It is inappropriate for an education program to suggest that these teens face a bleak future; lack self-control, self-respect, and values; or that they are less worthy of love, trust, and respect. DISTORTING INFORMATION Inaccurate Messages About STDs & HIV “Of all these people who transmit or catch STDs probably none of them will be virgins.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 52) “Venereal Warts can come back after treatment and must be removed again, or else they will get bigger and spread over larger areas.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 53) “That means the virus may be in your body a long time (from a few months to as long as 10 years or more) before it can be detected, either by a test or by physical symptoms.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 60) The curriculum provides insufficient inaccurate information on transmission, relies on worst case scenarios to instill fear in young people, implies that STDs are the result of a lack of character and self-control, and suggests that medical treatment might not work. The curriculum also contains outdated and inaccurate information about HIV. This does little to inform students. It may, however, ultimately prevent them from seeking vital STD testing and treatment. Discouraging treatment is in direct conflict with the public health needs of our young people. Exaggerating Condom Failure “There is still some uncertainty about how effectively even a latex condom protects against the virus [HIV].” “We know that the failure rate for condoms used to avoid pregnancy is around 10-20 percent over the course of a year. Now consider that a woman can become pregnant only a few days out of each month. People can get HIV any day during a month. You don’t need to be an algebra genius to know that you’re risking your life.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 67) The discussion of condoms misrepresents failure rates. This focus seems to be based on the illogical assumption that if young people believe condoms will not work, they will abstain from sexual intercourse. While such inaccurate information may discourage teens from using condoms this does not mean they will not have sex. Instead it means that they will be at increased risk for unintended pregnancy and STDs, including HIV, when they do become sexually active. PROMOTING BIASES Presenting Myths and Stereotypes about Gender as True “A young man’s natural desire for sex is already strong due to testosterone, the powerful male growth hormone. Females are becoming culturally conditioned to fantasize about sex as well.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 11) “Yet, because they generally become physically aroused less easily, girls are still in a good position to slow down the young man and help him learn balance in a relationship.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 12) “A guy who wants to respect girls is distracted by sexy clothes and remembers her for one thing. Is it fair that guys are turned on by their senses and women by their hearts?” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 94) The curricula reinforce traditional gender roles as well as societal myths that imply that young men are only interested in sex while young women only agree to have sex to get love. These messages place all of the responsibility for refusing sexual activity on the shoulders of young women and are detrimental to all students by limiting their options and coloring their opinions for future relationships. Idealizing Marriage and Depicting Non-Traditional Families as Troubled “All evidence has shown that marriage benefits everyone involved women, men, children, society and even the business economy!” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 121) “One caution, too, is that many of us who now think that we’ll NEVER get married may very well change our minds later on.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 80) “Sociologists even studied the myth that children would do just as well in divorced, single-parent and step families as they do in intact first marriage. That also proved false.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 121) It is not the place of an education program to mandate choices for students. Further, it is unfair to put the burden of family structure on students who, as children, have no control over their current family situation. There are may reasons—including divorce, death, desertion, cohabitation, and gay and lesbian partnerships—that student may live in a family that does not match the ideal model espoused by Sex Respect. Suggesting that these young people will face a lifetime of difficulty will undoubtedly distress and alienate many students. Discounting Gay and Lesbian Individuals “The word sex is frequently used to refer to the physical and personal act of male and female genital union, sexual intercourse.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 6) “Finally, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), the STD most common among homosexual, bisexuals and IV drug users, has now made its way into heterosexual circles.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 54) “Homosexual activity involves an especially high risk for HIV transmission.” (Sex Respect, Teacher Manual, p.68) For the most part the curricula completely discounts gay and lesbian individuals; all references to sexual activity and relationships are specific to male-female couples and the focus on marriage ignores the fact that gays and lesbians cannot legally marry in this country. In discussions on HIV, however, the curriculum shows a clear bias against homosexuality. Gay and lesbian students, especially young men who have sex with men, are at increased risk for STDs, including HIV. By leaving them out of most discussions and presenting biased information in others, Sex Respect fails to provide these students with any realistic strategies for protecting themselves from such risks. Mandating Decisions for Pregnant Teens “Abortion is not the best choice … because it unfairly penalizes the baby for the bad decision the baby’s parents made.” (Sex Respect, Teacher Manual, p. 7) “The risks in abortion are far more serious than even the most knowledgeable scholars once believed.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 114) “A benefit for the baby, first of all is life, the chance to be born, and getting two loving parents who longed and waited for him or her.” (Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 114) “Have a speaker from a pro-life crisis pregnancy organization come and talk about the risks of abortion and the benefits of adoption.” (Sex Respect, Teacher Manual, p. 110) It is never the place of education programs to mandate choices for students. Instead, students need unbiased information about the options they have should they experience an unintended pregnancy as a teen or an adult. It is then up to students to make choices consistent with their own values and the values of their families and communities. By presenting clearly biased and inaccurate information about abortion and adoption, Sex Respect does not allow individuals to make informed, personal decisions.

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