Paige is a member of the Ohio Advocates. 

My name is Paige. I am 15 years old and I am a sophomore in high school. I have lived in the same town in Ohio my whole life, and have been enrolled in the same school district since kindergarten. Being a tight-knit school and community, it’s hard not to see the actions and consequences of the people and peers around you. Just last year there were seven girls in my high school who got pregnant unexpectedly. I believe that this is seven too many. If students had the right sexual health education provided for them, incidents like this are less likely to happen. Those pregnant girls in my high school received little to no help, except for a small packet of information. There were no resources, programs, or people to educate and help them. This, along with recommendations from teachers, is what sparked my interest in sexual health and sex education.

I realized that my high school, along with many other high schools across the country, has little to no sex education available to students. This is one of the main causes of the high teen pregnancy rates, and the teen STD rates. Teenagers who receive abstinence-only programs or no programs at all, don’t know the effects and dangers of having unprotected sex and therefore are less likely to use protection. This puts millions of teens a year at risk of getting pregnant or contracting an STD. This is why I decided to take part in the Youth Advocacy. I want to give a voice to other teenagers that are my age and prove that we can make a difference.

I hope to raise awareness about these sensitive topics. I want schools to have guidelines about what to teach and how to teach it. I want students to have available resources, programs and help whenever they need it. They should be given comprehensive sex education and have their questions answered. Students should not be singled out, or out into stereotypes or categories. There should be a way to give students one on one expertise if they need it, or personal help. This is what I hope to accomplish during my time with Advocates for Youth and the Ohio Youth Leadership Council.