What Do We Say About Sex?

After years of informing our young people about sexuality, the United States still has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any Western industrialized nation—one million teen girls become pregnant each year. One in four teens will contract a sexually transmitted disease, and HIV infection is increasing rapidly among young adults, many of whom were infected as teenagers.

Communities across the United States are grappling with how sexuality should be taught and what aspects should be emphasized. What most experts agree on, however, is the effective programs should: