Sexual Consent Needs to be Taught

Last week California became the first state to require sexual consent classes to be taught in high school. This is a great achievement, and I hope more states across the nation decide to add similar bills.

Sexual consent courses are important because some people still don't comprehend the phrase, "yes means yes and no means no". Young people all across the board, both male and female, are taught about what to do if they're ever sexually assaulted. Young girls are encouraged to join martial arts and self defense classes to fight off any attackers that may come their way. This is terrifying, being told at a young age that you may have to fight off an attacker that won't listen to you.

What scares me the most though, is the fact that we don't have sexual consent lessons. It may be difficult for some to understand the definition of the words yes and no, which is why we need to teach. After all, education is key.

Some Californians oppose the bill because it takes away from students freedoms. I say ba-hum-bug. If learning about sexual consent and possibly avoiding the sexual assault of millions a year takes away from your freedom, by all means, elaborate.

Every 107 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted, and 98% of the attackers never face jail time. That's quite scary as well. You can't just teach little kids how to avoid and fight off attacks, that only helps a handful of individuals. You must try to stop the problem from where it starts and not where it ends.

Some individuals don't know the differences between consent and nonconsensual sex. Todays society loves to twist words, and make them mean something totally different. This is just another reason that we need laws in place to ensure education to everyone.

68% of sexual assault cases are not reported to the police. Victims are scared of being shamed. They're asked questions such as, what were you wearing? Were you intoxicated? Were you flirting? IT DOESN'T MATTER!! Rape is rape. The attacker should be reported, and with classes such as the ones being introduced in California, hopefully victims will be more willing and confident to report their abuse and find justice.

I fully support the introduction of these classes in California! I think consent needs to be taught as a first priority and defense as a last resort. If we can stop and prevent the problem from the beginning, there won't be as big of a hassle at the end.

spread some education and stay peaceful!!