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11 Facts About Sex Education in the U.S.

In the U.S., more than 750,000 girls ages 15-19 become pregnant every year. More than 80 percent of these are unintended pregnancies.
Young people ages 15-25 contract 19 million STDs annually.
Two young people (ages 13-29) contract HIV every hour.
Teens who receive a comprehensive education about sex are 50 percent less likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who receive sex educations that are abstinence-only or contraception-only programs.
Virginity pledges are promises to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage and have become popular courses of action for sex education programs across America. Unfortunately, studies show that pledgers are just as likely as non-pledgers to have STDs and less likely to use contraception if they do become sexually active.
Emergency contraception and comprehensive sexuality education have both proven to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy.
Emergency contraception prevented 51,000 abortions in 2000.
65 percent of LGBTQ middle- and high school-aged students report being sexually harassed with sexual remarks or touching because of their orientation.
Almost 80 percent of parents support sexual education that includes information about sexual orientation.
More than 90 percent of parents of junior high and high school students believe that it is somewhat or very important for sex education to be included in the curriculum.
100 percent of parents of junior high school students agree that HIV/AIDS is an appropriate topic for sexuality education curriculums.