More Comprehensive Health & Sexuality Education = Less Sexual Violence

More Comprehensive Health & Sexuality Education = Less Sexual Violence

By Katrina Eberly
Senior Attorney, Victim Rights Law Center

How do we end sexual violence?
Start Early.

I am often asked – How do we end sexual violence? Unsurprisingly, as an attorney that primarily represents VRLC’s child survivors, my answer focuses on educating our children. The best way to end sexual violence = comprehensive, developmentally and age-appropriate health and sexuality education throughout our primary and secondary education systems. Simply put, we should be teaching our children about bodily autonomy, consent, and healthy relationships from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

By state law, Massachusetts schools “shall give instruction and training . . . in health education [including] . . . safe and healthy relationships with a focus on preventing sexual and domestic violence . . . .” M.G.L. c. 71, § 1. Thankfully, on September 19th, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously approved a new “Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Framework.” The framework provides learning standards of “what all students are expected to know and be able to do,” in health and physical education organized by grade spans, practices, and topics. (pgs. 6-8). Happily, the frameworks are medically accurate, LGBTQ+-inclusive, and developmentally and age-appropriate.

At the beginning, the standards for grades pre-Kindergarten through 2nd grade include but are not limited to:

  • Use medically accurate names for body parts, including genitals when communicating about their body and physical health. (pg. 19).
  • Recognize safe, unsafe, and inappropriate touching and demonstrate how to tell a trusted adult if this happens. (pg. 19).
  • Define and demonstrate simple ways to communicate personal boundaries and respect the boundaries of others, including physical, verbal, sexual, and emotional boundaries (e.g., explain why it is important to tell others not to touch their body when they do not want to be touched and why it is important to stop touching someone when they indicate the touch is unwelcome). (pg. 20).
  • Discuss gender-role stereotypes and their potential impacts on people of all genders. (pg. 20).
  • Demonstrate awareness of, and ways to show respect for, different family structures (e.g., families with heterosexual parents, families with same-gender parents, single parent families, intergenerational families, adoptive families, foster families). (pg. 20).

The standards for grades 9th through 12th grade include but are not limited to:

  • Discuss reasons for why it is wrong to trick, threaten, or coerce another person into sexual activity. (pg. 42).
  • Describe the cycle of violence in relationships and discuss strategies for getting help and leaving an unhealthy, violent, or exploitative relationship. (pg. 42).
  • Discuss the benefits of trauma-informed approaches to relationships. (pg. 46).
  • Explain age of consent laws and why it is an individual’s responsibility to obtain consent, verify that all sexual contact is consensual, recognize that consent must be asked for and verbally given, that it cannot be given if under the influence, and that it can be taken away at any point (i.e., someone can say yes and change their mind, or say yes to certain things but not others). (pg. 42).
  • Summarize benefits (e.g., mutual respect, deeper connections, inclusion) of respecting individual differences in aspects of sexuality (e.g., sexual activity, sexual abstinence, sexual orientation), gender (e.g., gender expression, gender identity), growth and development, and physical appearance. (pg. 46)
  • Discuss how to foster empathy, inclusiveness, and respect around issues related to sexuality (such as sexual activity, sexual abstinence, sexual orientation), gender expression, and gender identity. (pg. 51).

Notably, school districts still have the discretion to decide how the framework is implemented at the local level. Additionally, Massachusetts parents can also choose to exempt their children from lessons about sex education. M.G.L. c. 71, § 32A. All that aside, this is seemingly a joyous moment for those in the anti-sexual violence movement! As always, our children are our future. And, for them, I wholeheartedly wish for a brighter future with less sexual violence.

Katrina Eberly is a Senior Attorney at Victim Rights Law Center. She provides direct representation to sexual assault victims in Western Massachusetts with a focus on education, safety, and privacy matters, as well as working with minor victims.

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