Teens Ask for More Sex Education, Greater Condom Availability

Hundreds of Boston teens met with officials in City Council chambers recently for a hearing requesting strengthened public high school sex education and condom distribution policies.

Councilor Ayanna Pressley, who convened the hearing, noted that the only controversial aspect of the meeting would be "not taking action .. It would also be cowardly." Harvard graduate student Maggie McLean disagreed. McLean, a member of the Catholic non-profit Pure in Heart, noted the widespread "hookup culture" of current high schoolers needs to be balanced by the provision of "tools to resist a culture of casual sexual activity." "Don't [just] say, 'Be safe. Here's a condom,'" said McLean.

A comprehensive sex education class covering the cultivation and maintenance of healthy relationships, spotting unhealthy relationships, and discussing sexual identity issues is precisely what Snowden International School senior Hung Nguyen is seeking. "They are focusing on 'Don't have sex or don't get pregnant.' There's more to it than that," said Nguyen, whose comments were echoed by several teen attendees.

According to the Boston Public Health Commission, 54 percent of city high school students are sexually active and more than half with multiple partners. Furthermore, BPHC reported that in 2007, chlamydia saw a 70 percent increase over 1999 numbers in teens 15-19. The city makes condoms available at nine high schools with community health centers, though service delivery and quality are inconsistent.

Boston Public Schools Health Education Program Director Barbara Huscher-Cohen said a collaborative of students, nurses, and social workers is drafting a new health education curriculum. The curriculum addresses sex education, and collaborators have already made nine recommendations, three of which are already in progress, said Huscher-Cohen.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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