The AIDS epidemic: implications for the sexuality education of our youth
Haffner, D.W.
Siecus Report 16(6): 1-5
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0091-3995 PMID: 12282041 Document Number: 361509
Even though more schools, community organizations, and national agencies encourage sex education in light of the AIDS epidemic than ever before, the majority of AIDS education programs for our youth are inadequate. For example, the staff of the Centers for Disease Control reviewed published curricula and learned that 2/3 of curricula only had 1-hour or 1-class session devoted to AIDS. Additionally, many such programs just reach middle class youth and those programs are limited to only teaching the biomedical aspects of AIDS, and ignore behavioral change through effective educational methodologies. In order to be effective AIDS education must be integrated into comprehensive health or sex education programs at each grade level, thereby reducing risk by continuous repetition of messages about AIDS. AIDS education programs must also address misinformation about HIV transmission so that fears associated with AIDS will diminish. This should be designed to lead youth towards compassion for people with HIV and/or AIDS. Effective programs must not accentuate the "dangers of sex" by simply advocating sexual abstinence, but help youth identify and resist social and peer pressure that encourages early sexual intercourse. There exists a wide range of sexual experiences in our youth, therefore AIDS prevention programs need to emphasize to the sexually active the urgency of using condoms each and every time one has intercourse. Another important component of such programs includes emphasizing that using alcohol and drugs impairs youth's ability to make sound decisions and that intravenous drugs increase the chances of contracting HIV, especially if needles are shared.