October is National Family Sexuality Education Month

October is National Family Sexuality Education Month, and what better way to honor it than to celebrate comprehensive sexuality education! This year, we’re celebrating the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which allows schools and educators to do just that-- provide comprehensive, medically-accurate, age-appropriate sex education!

PREP provides $55 million for states to provide evidence-based sex education on:

• Pregnancy prevention
• Abstinence
• Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) prevention
• Responsible decision-making
• Healthy relationships
  

With an estimated 750,000 unplanned teen pregnancies and 4 million new STI transmissions among teens per year, it is clear that these topics need to be addressed. Pregnancy and STIs are 100% preventable and providing youth with factual, age-appropriate information is the first step in prevention.

Numerous studies have shown that comprehensive sex education can help kids abstain from sex, increase contraceptive use, and reduce teen pregnancies. And, we know that abstinence-only messages don’t work. Planned Parenthood of Delaware, along with teens and parents everywhere, are using Sex Ed Month to applaud Congress and the Obama administration for taking the first step toward protecting the health of the nation’s youth and empowering them to make good decisions for their bodies.

Need an excuse to bring up this sometimes tough topic? Take a peek at the Planned Parenthood list of upcoming workshops for the fall!

Sexting: Knowing the Risks and Staying Safe

Cell phones have become an essential accessory for our generation. The explosion in technology has led to people incorporating it into their personal relationships—including “sexting” (shorthand for sexy-texting) which can be anything from a sexy text message to nude or semi-nude pictures. The allure of sexting is the belief that it’s discreet, convenient, and (supposedly) safe. And because you’re sending them to someone you know and trust, it’s easy to think that pushing SEND is harmless; if it doesn’t become physical, then you can’t get hurt, right?

As it turns out, sexting can be very dangerous because these messages can be saved forever, forwarded to strangers, and shown to other people without your consent. All it can take is one fight with your significant other who forwards your pictures to their entire contact list. At this point, you can do nothing to stop those messages from spreading or to stop them from being accompanied by your number, face, and an extra message to "Pass it on!"

Many things could happen to you at the center of a Sexting situation:

• If you are under 18, sending naked pictures of yourself can be considered producing and possessing child pornography (a felony that could land you in prison or permanently on the national sex offender list).
• You could become a victim of bullying and harassment from peers.
• You could also be blackmailed into giving out more compromising photos of yourself, an act referred to as Sextortion.

So the next time you get a risqué text or want to send one, think to yourself:

• Would I say these things to him/her in person? Am I ok with others knowing what I say or do?
• How would others react to what I’m doing? Could this text hurt me in the long run?

If you are being prompted to sext, the best thing to do is cut the conversation off, wait until you’re alone with that person and set some boundaries about what is appropriate for you.

Parents and providers can attend a FREE upcoming sexting workshop! Click here for more information.

…and for more information about sexting and sextortion, check out these links:

• A Thin Line
• MSNBC
• Connect Safely