Sex Ed For All Month, celebrated each May, is a national effort driven by groups of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations committed to ensuring that equitable sex education is available and accessible to all.
As an organization that offers in-person and real-time virtual sexual health education at schools and community-based sites, and resources and training for youth, parents, and professionals working with youth, Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) is proud to celebrate Sex Ed for All Month.
We work hard to create safe, inclusive spaces for people of all backgrounds to receive age-appropriate and medically accurate information that empowers them, and allows them to maintain physical and emotional health as well as healthy relationships. In order to ensure inclusivity, we provide trainings and educational sessions in multiple languages.
Faviola Mercado, Community Educator Manager at PPOSBC, believes in "providing education in the languages that reflect our communities.”
“Young people should have the option to receive sex education in the language that they're most comfortable in because language should never be a barrier when it comes to receiving sex education," she said.
Science-backed comprehensive sex education positively impacts young people and benefits their life. Research showsthat sex ed that is culturally responsive and inclusive helps young people develop the social and emotional skills they need to become kind and empathetic.
When this type of sex education is provided early in life, it often leads to the prevention of child sex abuse and dating and intimate partner violence, the development of healthy relationships, appreciation of sexual diversity, improved social/emotional learning, and increased media literacy. But oftentimes, sex education is centered around the heteronormative experience and excludes the experiences of diverse communities.
"It's all about inclusivity,” said PPOSBC Health Educator Cris De La Cruz. “It’s important to highlight the need for sex education among all young folks, especially those facing systemic barriers, racism, and discrimination, including youth of color, LGBTQ youth, and youth with disabilities or those living in rural areas."
“Young people deserve the facts about sex and relationships, free of shame and stigma, no matter who they are, where they live, or their income,” he continued.
Learn More
Want to learn more or find additional answers about sexual and reproductive health? The Community Education and Outreach Department (CEOD) at PPOSBC provides comprehensive sex education programs that give youth the information needed to understand all aspects of sexual and reproductive health.
For more information, visit BetterThanSexEd.org.
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