Sexual Assault Aftermath Education needs to be included in High School Sex Education

The topic of sexual assault, while horrible and triggering, is an important one to discuss, especially among high schoolers. Sex ed is a monumentally important class for students to take and they learn very impactful things in this class, there’s no doubt. However, when you look back on your sex ed class what do you remember? Say no to drugs. Say yes to safe sex or abstinence. All the typical topics.

But, what I’m curious about is do you remember your sexual assault unit? Most of you will say yes, which is great! It’s an important topic to learn about and ends up affecting many students during those years or later in life. But do you remember your teacher covering what you should do after an assault? Sure, they cover prevention which is most important, and they talk about noticing the warning signs, also very important. But did they ever cover in depth what you should do if it happens?

Many sex ed curriculums in high schools are lacking in this key topic, leaving students that experience sexual assault lost if it happens. This is why including sexual assault aftermath in the sex ed curriculum would be helpful to students that might experience assault.

According to RAINN, a sexual assault victim advocacy resource, “younger people are at the highest risk of sexual violence” rising to 54% of victims being between the ages of 18–34 (RAINN). These stats affect students still in high school and recent graduates. Casey Malsam, the Assistant Director for the Victim Advocacy center, WGAC (Women and Gender Advocacy Center), says, “most people don’t want to believe that this will… happen to them. And if it is never going to happen to me, why would I find out what to do if it does.” She also explains that she encounters people almost every day that were unaware of what the next steps were after they were assaulted. This leaves victims confused, alone, and stuck when they are unaware of their options.

While some victims may feel as though they have no options, this is just not the case. There are countless resources that victims can utilize including advocacy centers, hotline, therapy, criminal action, and many others. Unfortunately, many victims have no idea where to start.

Poudre School District, the primary school district in Fort Collins, has a sexual assault resource team, also known as SART. On the district’s page it states, “The foundational 90-minute SART sexual assault prevention/education program is integrated into high school health curriculum, so every PSD high school student has the chance to experience this dynamic, peer-led presentation in their classroom.”

While this is a great resource and much needed presentation, 90 minutes out of the entire semester of a sex ed class doesn’t seem like enough. In fact, if you look at the importance of the material they cover, 90 minutes is hardly a sufficient amount of time to cover a topic so stressing as sexual assault. Think back to your high school experience, do you remember a 90-minute presentation that happens once out of your four years of high school? I didn’t think so. The school district is not doing enough to educate these students on the after affects of sexual assault or their options after an assault happens.

Cassie Hurley, the Larimer County Victim Services and Outreach Coordinator at SAVA, a victim advocacy center, says, “I think a majority of the survivors we work with are unaware of all their options. Some may know a little, but most people are not explicitly taught. Our society doesn’t talk about sexual violence enough for it to be common knowledge.”

SAVA is a Northern Colorado based advocacy center that focuses on sexual assault and helping victims heal after an assault happens. This advocacy center is one of the biggest resources that victims can utilize, yet many have no idea who they are. The center offers assault education, help with finding the right path to healing, and many other things. If students were educated more on centers like this, victims might know exactly where to look if an assault occurs.

Tessa Jakobsson, Corporal with the Fort Collins Police Department Crimes Against Persons Detective unit, explains that fear is a huge factor in a victim’s post assault response. Jakobsson says, “I think aftermath education could help young people know what to expect which may take away certain fear barriers to reporting.”

By incorporating post assault education into high school curriculum, these fear factors could be eased for people that might experience assault. By knowing more about reporting or other post-assault options, this can take away some of the anxiety and fear that surround these actions.

Additionally, students in these sex ed classes might have already experienced sexual assault and may be dealing with this confusing time where they don’t know what to do. EduRisk Solutions states that , “1 in 5 high school girls say they have been sexually assaulted at school”. This means that 20% of high school girls in these sex ed classes have already experienced assault and might be looking for a path to go down to begin the healing process. By adding more aftermath education into the curriculum, these girls can be directly educated on what their options are.

Overall, I think including more assault aftermath education in the high school curriculum would help people who have been assault or might be assaulted in the future, understand the options that they have as survivors.