The state of Wyoming needs to implement a formal sex education curriculum for adolescents attending public high schools. As of right now, Wyoming public schools are not required to teach sex education, and curriculum is not required to be comprehensive for students.
A comprehensive curriculum is a written plan that guides the design of children’s goals for learning and development. Wyoming’s sexual education courses have no requirement to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, nor is it required to include instruction on consent or medically accurate sex education instruction.
The state does require sex education courses to cover accurate and developmentally appropriate information on sexuality. According to the Wyoming Health Education Content, sex education courses require information regarding pregnancy prevention, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
However, these sexual education classes that merely touch upon such a select group of topics are not enough to educate our youth on safe sex practices and healthy intimate relationships.
The state of Wyoming reported that in the 2015-2016 school year, only 28.1% of Wyoming secondary schools taught students all of the recognized critical sexual health topics, which include unintended pregnancy prevention, HIV and AIDS prevention, and human sexuality. Nearly 49% taught students how to correctly use a condom, and 93.5% taught students about the benefits of being sexually abstinent.
Comprehensive sexual education should include scientifically accurate information about human development, anatomy and reproductive health, as well as information about contraception, childbirth, and sexually transmitted infections including HIV and AIDS.
These courses should also include teachings about puberty, relationships, sexual violence prevention, body image, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
The fact that many of these principal topics are not being discussed in schools to our adolescents is proving to be incredibly harmful to our teenage and emerging adult populations.
Young people who are entering their college years with no formal education about sexual and reproductive health and who are not knowledgeable about safe sex practices and STI prevention could potentially be a risk to themselves and others.
A 2022 report from the Wyoming Department of Health shows a 23.6% increase in Chlamydia cases from 2020-2021, as well as a 33.5% increase in Gonorrhea cases. Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed STI in the state, with 41% of diagnoses being individuals between 20 and 24 years of age. A comprehensive sex education program would educate and protect young people against these easily transmittable diseases and infections.
Factors that put people at higher risk for STIs, HIV, and viral hepatitis are; sexual contact without a barrier method, sex with multiple partners, sexual contact while under the influence, injection drug use, and anonymous sexual contact.
In order to keep yourself and your partners safe, it is important to get tested for STIs routinely, and learn how to correctly use condoms during sexual contact. Limiting your number of sexual partners and choosing lower risk types of sexual contact has also proven to limit your risk of exposure to different STIs.
The University of Wyoming has many resources on campus that are available for students who wish to learn about safe sex practices. If you are interested in bystander intervention to limit sexual violence on campus, Green Dot is a great program to get involved in. Student Health Services provides free STI screenings, and Safe Project is a good resource available for crisis intervention, sexual assault response, protection orders, and safety planning.
