New Sex Ed Resource for Librarians

According to a release from Advocates for Youth, which accompanied the publication of their new sex education resource for librarians, participants in a study of students who received sexuality education in school indicated that they needed more information about: rape and sexual assault (55 percent); coping with the emotional consequences of being sexually active (46 percent); talking with a partner about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases (46 percent); and where to obtain contraception (40 percent). Yet another study found that teens reported the need for information regarding: the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDs (56 percent); available methods of birth control (57 percent); how to talk to a doctor about sexual health issues (43 percent); and how to deal with pressure to have sex (35 percent).

Advocates for Youth is an organization dedicated to creating programs and advocating for policies that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. This new publication, The Librarian's Guide to Sex Education Resources offers print, video, and web based sex education resources for anyone working with youth. While its geared to librarians, the resource would be useful for anyone interested in what tools are out there for educating youth around making healthy sexual choices. While far from exhaustive, I was happy to see resources for queer youth and youth living with disabilities included, and it offers one more tool for educators who toil without funding and government support to provide youth with straightforward information about sexual health choices.