Teach our kids about prevention

Increasingly, people are experiencing sexual misconduct in colleges, workplaces and public areas. Campaigns such as “Me Too” continue to bring awareness to people but never address the problem.

What society has to do is educate young adults about how to prevent sexual violence, not what to do after it occurs. Unfortunately, some secondary schools will educate their students about contraception but avoid the social aspects of sexual education.

A big misconception about sexual misconduct is that individuals have different perceptions of what is and is not sexual violations. For example, guys may think that there is nothing wrong with doing something flirtatious, but women might think the opposite. Therefore, students need proper training so that boys and girls know how to handle particular situations.

In order to kill the weed, the root must be dug out, so in order to stop sexual harassment, future leaders must be educated about what healthy relationships are. As a parent, the last thing one wants is to harm one’s children, so protect them by demanding secondary schools provide sexual education that emphasizes the social aspects.

With this knowledge, rather than developing gender biases toward one another, students will learn how to interact and empathize with each other. When adolescents continue to college or the workforce, they will know how to respect each other’s boundaries or have the courage to speak up when their sexual boundaries are being violated.

Ger Thao Milwaukee