What were they taught?
In early September, Reporter ran a survey aiming to understand the safe sex knowledge of the average RIT student. This survey received 214 answers. For statistics nerds out there, assuming that the RIT population is around 17,000, this means that with a 95% confidence rate, there will be a 6.66% margin of error — and for non-statistics nerds, this just means that the survey is an imperfect but still fairly accurate representation of the student population.
The survey assessed both what RIT students had learned during their previous sexual education, along with what they know now in their college years. However, more than one in 10 students said they simply had not received a sexual health education — rendering many questions regarding their past instruction irrelevant.
A little under two-fifths of students said they did not feel comfortable, respected or safe to ask questions in the classroom. What does that mean? In any 30-person class, there are 12 students who may not have been able to ask the clarifying questions they needed to learn how to have sex safely. Additionally, four-fifths of students stated that when they were taught about barrier methods such as condoms, they were not given a chance to physically practice their use; in a class of 30, that would be 24 students.
Over one in 10 students stated that they were not educated on consent at all, and a similar portion said that while they had been educated on consent, their consent education had covered nothing. Nearly two-fifths of students said that their school failed to cover sexual abuse/violence prevention, and a little over two-fifths also reported that their school failed to provide any resources for those experiencing sexual abuse or violence. All in all, this translates to a startling lack of education on important interpersonal or violent issues that can arise in relation to or during sex. It is incredibly important to know what to do in the case of sexual abuse or violence.
At RIT, if you need to report sexual abuse or violence, check out the Office of Compliance and Ethics “Report a Concern” page. This page can also be used to report any type of discrimination you may experience. In immediate danger, call RIT Public Safety at 585-475-3333, shoot them a text at 585-205-8333 or utilize the nearest blue light station.
Finally, more than three-quarters of students said they were not taught about appropriate lubrication usage in their sexual education classes. While this is not entirely surprising, it is still a huge issue, as for many, the simple addition of lube can turn sex from painful to pleasurable.
What do they know?
A little under nine-tenths of students stated that they felt fairly to completely confident that they had enough knowledge to engage in safe sex. However, that number didn’t measure up to the actual knowledge they had.
Two realistic medical diagrams of genitals were included in the survey to be labeled, and you can see for yourself how well RIT students did. The results showed a notable disparity between the accuracy for labeling of traditionally ‘male’ and ‘female’ genitals.
Roughly 17% of students believed that Plan B is a one-size-fits-all. While Plan B does generally come in only one dosage, people who go on it and weigh more than 165-175 pounds have a three to four times greater chance of pregnancy. In these cases, it is recommended to consult a medical professional and consider what other emergency contraceptive measures you would be comfortable with. However, if Plan B is your only option, any contraception is better than none.
Additionally, more than one-tenth of students were unaware that hormone replacement therapy does not erase the need for contraception in transgender individuals wanting to avoid pregnancy. Remember, unless your doctor confirms that you are sterile and cannot impregnate someone or be impregnated, you should assume that contraception is needed to be safe.
What did they say?
Many students mentioned places outside of school where they had learned the most about sex, stating that their school had not taught them well. However, some said that their schools were openly discriminatory in their teachings of sex education.
Kenna Roberts, a fourth-year game design and development major, said, “My friend begged every time we had sex Ed for my teacher to talk about queer people and she kept saying ‘next time,’ but there was never a next time.” There is and has always been a notable gap in the safe sexual health education for non-straight individuals, and many other students had this issue as well, as can be seen by the list of groups and relationships that were represented in sexual health education classes.
Kyren Hartman, a second-year 3D animation major, stated, “My high school did a lot of fear-mongering involving sex and would vaguely teach us how to prevent STDs and pregnancy, but never how to actually, safely, and enjoyably have sex.” Unfortunately, many schools seemed to utilize similar fearmongering, preventing people from learning about how to have fun, consensual and safe sex until much later in life.
Don’t be discouraged by the large percentages of knowledge gaps! The story doesn’t have to stop there. To learn more about safe sex, check out the “Sexual and Gender Health Services” page on the Student Health Center website. They offer counseling, STD/STI testing and tons of other services for those who wish to learn more about safe sex.
