Description
The United States currently has the highest teen pregnancy rate of all industrialized countries, and has been in this position for several years. Teenage sexuality is not a new issue – however, the number of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections that occur each year in this population is preventable. In fact, teens in the United States only make up 25% of the sexually active population, but make up nearly 50% of all new sexually transmitted infections each year.
Currently, it is up to individual states on how to best provide sexual education to teens. Surprisingly, only 22 states, and Washington D.C., have laws requiring sexual education occur at school. And, 35 states have a law stating that parents can pull their children out of school sexual education if they wish. If teens do not learn about sex at school, where else do they learn? Parents, friends, family, religious groups, the internet? This project aims to provide a medically-accurate electronic resource to help answer some of the questions teens may ask about sex, sexual health, puberty, and staying safe.
