ADVISORY FOR: April 5th, 2017
Contact: Caitlyn Caruso, 702-845-8566, caitlyncaruso@gmail.com
UNLV Spectrum Stands in Support of #AB348
Inclusive, Medically Accurate, and Age Appropriate Sex Education for NV, NOW!
Las Vegas, Nevada – On April 5th, 2017, #AB348 will be heard in the assembly committee on education. This bill proposes an update to Nevada’s antiquated sex education policy. UNLV Spectrum, the only LGBTQ organization at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, stands in firm support of #AB348.
As the organization that serves often as first-contact for LGBTQ students at our university, we have seen the impact of misinformation, stigma, and confusion. These impacts are not insignificant. We know that LGB youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. The CDC states, “Going to a school that creates a safe and supportive learning environment… [is] especially important.” Treating young people with respect promotes personal responsibility far more than denying them information. These students deserve better.
With #AB348, sex education will have its first state-wide update in decades. The American Civil Liberties Union here in Nevada performed a report on the out-dated sex ed materials in 2015. These classes made claims such as, IUD devices are considered unsafe, chlamydia increases your risk of infertility, condoms don’t protect against common STIs, and that if girls have sex, it will lead to predators coming to look for them. Beyond this report, students who have entered our space have told us horror story after horror story of biased and bigoted teachers, irrelevant information, and stigma preached in the classroom.
This piece of legislation will provide a safeguard against misinformation. Denying young people accurate information about sex will not prevent them from having sex, it will only prevent them from being able to make the most informed, healthy, and responsible decisions for themselves. Nevada consistently ranks in the top 10 states for teen pregnancy rates and currently has the highest syphilis rate in the Western United States. Providing information on contraception and STI’s is critically important for the health outcomes of all our communities.
Young people have the right to lead healthy lives. When LGBTQ students are being taught that there is something wrong with them, or a young woman is told that condoms don’t protect against STI’s, or someone is told that if they have sex, they are impure, that is not providing them the tools they need to thrive in this world. We know that sexual health and identity formation affect LGBTQ students in a unique and disproportionate way, and UNLV Spectrum stands firmly in support of #AB348, inclusive, medically-accurate, and age-appropriate sex education for Nevada’s students.
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ABOUT UNLV SPECTRUM
UNLV Spectrum is UNLV’s only LGBTQ organization. They work to provide a comfortable environment within the university to facilitate safe and positive education and support for all students and faculty regarding individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, or questioning. They provide education and information about human sexuality/gender, provide support and peer counseling, dispel myths, fallacies, and stereotypes of sexual and gender minorities through educating the campus and local communities, and provide a supportive environment for LGBTQ students.