Letter to Public Officials Regarding Connecting Sexual Violence with the Need for Comprehensive Sexuality Education

SUMMARY

The Sex and Law Committee wrote to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representative Carolyn Maloney, and NYC Public Advocate Letitia James praising each for her leadership in addressing the issue of sexual violence on school campuses and seeking to enlist their help in initiating a proactive, long-term approach to reducing rates of sexual violence by lending their public support to policies that advance comprehensive sex education. The Committee points to the need to establish comprehensive sex education in the schools to prepare young people from an early age to engage in healthy relationships. The Committee cited the 2012 National Sexuality Education Standards, which incorporate lessons focusing not only on physical development, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases, but also on safety, respect and consent, sexual decision-making, self-efficacy, sexual orientation and gender identity, and awareness about cultural messages that reinforce gender norms and sexual violence.