Sexual Health Education for Teens

Is your school looking for a free, medically accurate sexual health program? The Well Clinic offers a free sexual risk avoidance program, called Healthy Boundaries, to area schools within central Missouri. It is intended for middle school and early high school students. It meets the Grade Level Equivalents set forth by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is medically accurate.

While the entire program is four days in length, individual school districts may opt to modify the number of days and subjects covered to best fit their needs. To bring the program to your school, contact us.

What is sexual risk avoidance education?

Sexual risk avoidance education is an approach that focuses on risk-avoidance in terms of sexual activity. The term “Sexual Risk Avoidance” is more commonly used than the older term “Abstinence.” This approach is identical to public health models designed to encourage avoidance instead of reduction of risky behaviors, such as under-age drinking and illegal drug use. Sexual risk avoidance education teaches students, regardless of orientation or previous sexual experience, that avoiding sexual activity before marriage is the only way to avoid its risks. Sexual risk avoidance education focuses on the whole person by sharing the importance of good decision-making skills for a healthy future.

Are sexual risk avoidance programs effective?

Currently there are 25 peer-reviewed studies that indicate students in sexual risk avoidance programs are more likely to delay sexual activity and are more likely to decrease or discontinue sexual activity in sexually active teens (WeAscend.org). Also, the latest research from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that most teens have not had sex and this is a continuing trend (CDC 2017 YRBS Survey Results).

Which curriculum do we use?

We researched many sexual risk avoidance curricula and visited various centers in the state of Missouri that have implemented sexual risk avoidance programs in public schools before deciding which curriculum to use. Our curriculum is called Healthy Boundaries.

Does the program cover consent, sexting, pornography, sex trafficking and dating violence?

Sexual risk avoidance programs employ a holistic approach to sex and healthy relationships by focusing on the well-being of each person and developing good decision-making skills. Therefore, there are discussions about consent, sexting, pornography, sex trafficking, and dating violence within Healthy Boundaries. Each of these issues is taken very seriously and the life-long impact on the individual is discussed in terms of the violator and the victim. Age of consent laws and their impact are shared with teens. In today’s society, sexting, pornography, and fear of sex-trafficking have become common-place. Sexual risk avoidance programs address the legal and emotional consequences of these activities, as well as healthy communication skills and best choices to avoid them.

Does the program cover contraception?

Most sexual risk avoidance programs share medically accurate information on contraception without demonstrating or distributing various methods. Sexual risk avoidance programs always give this information in a more general discussion with emphasis on the value of delaying sexual activity altogether to avoid risks. Sexual risk avoidance programs do not promote or normalize sexual activity. Recent CDC research results show that an overwhelming majority of teens between 15-17 years old are not having sex (CDC.gov (opens in a new tab)). If individual school districts have policies in place not to share this information with students, then The Well Clinic will not present information about contraception to the students.

How do sexual risk avoidance programs help teens become successful adults?

Sexual risk avoidance programs focus on the whole person by presenting ways to make healthy decisions now for a better future. Programs teach the appropriate sequence of choices. This reduces the chance a teen will live in poverty as an adult. Steps such as finishing high school, going to college, or getting a job and then having children within a healthy life-long relationship are key to living a successful life as an adult. Research has shown that teens who follow these steps increase their chances for a happy marriage, healthier relationships, and a productive life-style. Research also indicates that teens who do not make healthy decisions now, including the decision to have sex, are more likely to endure negative outcomes that last a life-time such as less academic achievement, depression, and anti-social behaviors, involvement in other risky behaviors, and less financial rewards (WeAscend.org (opens in a new tab)). Given this information, The Well Clinic supports sexual risk avoidance education as the best approach to help teens thrive and become successful adults in the future.

Are you a student with questions of your own? Visit our students page.