With gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted infections on the rise, it’s time we rethink sex education and the stigmas surrounding STIs. If we stop making sex a taboo topic and actually talk about it as the health topic it is, we might not be facing the 145 percent increase in gonorrhea cases the state is currently seeing. 

Not surprisingly, millennials are the age group most affected by this uptick in cases. And among the many reasons why sex is a taboo topic, the way we teach sex ed is certainly a factor. Making sex a taboo topic is helping no one.

Starting at a young age, Americans should be exposed to healthy conversations about sex which focus on topics like consent and how to prevent risks like pregnancy or STIs. These conversations don’t and shouldn’t promote sex, but rather make sure young people understand consequences of sex if they choose to have intercourse.  

The expectation that young people won’t have sex if they participate in sex ed devoted to abstinence is unreasonable. Religious and cultural beliefs shouldn’t change the conversation about the scientific and fact-based knowledge of sex and its consequences. 

In general, programming about abstinence does not prevent young people from having sex, according to NPR. In effect, telling young people to abstain from sex only makes them afraid to ask questions and have healthy conversations about sex, but it does not prevent them from having sex. 

Making sex less taboo doesn’t mean we have to regulate talking about who’s been hooking up with who in normal conversation. It just means people can be more comfortable asking questions about their bodies, having conversations with potential partners and making better efforts to understand how they can keep themselves safe.

Here are a few of the elements the editorial board feels should be included in sex ed classes.

• Consent — Teaching consent is an obvious part of sex ed, though it isn’t often included in programming. Talking about consent doesn’t have to be complex. For example, a popular video compares consent to asking if someone would like a cup of tea and can open up a discussion about how to attain consent. 

• Psychological impact of sex — Sex ed should also talk about the mental health effects of sex. In particular, this portion of a program could discuss how to effectively talk to a partner about whether you’re ready for sex and any parts of it that make you anxious. This could also talk about emotional feelings that may or may not come along with sex. 

• Protection, STIs and pregnancy — And of course, sex ed should talk about using condoms, forms of birth control and other protection to decrease the risk of STIs and unwanted pregnancy. This additionally should dispel myths about STIs and pregnancy to create a more educated public.

So, let’s talk about sex. Let’s make sex ed a program that shows potential outcomes of pregnancy and STIs, without making it seem like abstinence is the only option. Let’s have an educated public that feels more comfortable addressing topics like STIs to keep people safer.