Let's Talk About Sex (education):
explaining State Variation In Sex Education Standards And Their Impact On University Sexual Assault Rates
Open Access
Author:
Mccleery, Melissa Katherine
Area of Honors:
Political Science
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Michael Barth Berkman, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Gretchen G Casper, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Sex education sex ed sexual assault rape higher ed women's studies higher education
Abstract:
States vary greatly in their requirements for the comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of sex education. This paper seeks to understand why sex education policy varies among states, and determine the real-world impact of these standards, specifically on university sexual assault rates. This paper examines sex education standards, and compares a states’ sex education comprehensiveness with university sexual assault rates in that state. We find that sex education standards are dependent on public opinion, and cannot be explained by factors that tend to explain other types of non-controversial education policy. Furthermore, we find that a state’s sex education comprehensiveness does not appear to have an impact on sexual assault rates, although this is likely due to underreporting of sexual assaults.
