I. Introduction/Thesis Statement: Sex education should be mandated in the school system for children over the age of 12.
A. School-based sex education provides information about human sexuality, protection, along with the values and attitudes about sex, and cultivates interpersonal skills that will enable students to counter the pressures of sexual involvement.
B. Sex education is challenged by parents and religious groups who claim that sex education promotes sexual behavior.
C. Sex education should be mandated for the following reasons: a) provides accurate information to students; b) decreases risky sexual behavior; c) minimizes the adverse consequences of risky sexual behavior; and d) ensures social equality.
II. Sex education in schools constitutes a valuable source of information for young people.
School-based sex education counteracts the misinformation about sex from media and peers.
School-based sex education provides students with a wide variety of information on human sexuality: HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), abstinence, basics of reproduction, birth control, abortion, sexual orientation, along with communication and decision-making skills.
Research showed that students' knowledge of human sexuality is positively related with school-based sex education.
III. Sex education is effective in decreasing risky sexual behavior.
Research studies indicated that students who received sex education delayed the initiation of sexual intercourse and increased the use of contraceptives.
Kirby's reports that reviewed several studies on the impact of sex education on sexual behavior concluded that comprehensive sex education was effective in deterring risky sexual behavior.
Kirby's reports also concluded that sex education did not promote increased sexual activity.
Five effective sex education programs were also identified.
IV. Sex education decreases the adverse consequences of sex...