The sexually saturated culture our children are marinating in

How did this happen?

I was watching a documentary called, "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich." With each episode I watched, testimonials from several high school girls who were recruited to give massages to an older rich guy in Palm Beach, Florida for money were showcased.

This man, Jeffrey Epstein, eventually ended up sexually abusing and even trafficking them. It made my blood boil. What were the high schools teaching about setting boundaries and sexual activity that would normalize this type of request from a peer recruiter? Why did high school girls think that this request was okay and act on it?

Looking into this further, I investigated what kind of health education curriculum was taught in the high schools in West Palm Beach, Florida during the late nineties. What I found was the high schools taught (and continue to teach) comprehensive sexuality education that is heavy on “condoms and consent” and light on healthy relationships.

What this means is that adolescent sex is normalized, and the attitude of adults is, teen sex is okay and the best we can do is just teach them how to do it safer. This coupled with the sexually saturated culture our children are marinating in created a climate where a pedophile like Jefferey Epstein could molest young girls with impunity.

We say we care about children; we protect them from all kinds of injuries with car seats, bike helmets and protective sporting gear. Why then do we not have the same passion to protect them from vulgarity, pornography, and involvement in early sexual debut. I just do not understand this hypocrisy especially when the teen brain is not fully developed, nor does the developing brain have the capacity to make such emotional and consequential life decisions.

When I speak about protecting adolescents from the early sexual debut and other high reach their goal. These meals are even more important now, during the pandemic when families are facing difficult times and uncertainty. Many Colorado school districts, including APS, continued to offer meals to students, even when they were forced to stay at home for remote learning.

That is why we need experts, bureaucrats, and teachers to do the job.

If an organization like the Center for Relationship Education chooses to not focus on sex, but rather on healthy relationship development, the worth and dignity of every adolescent, and the strategy for future life success, we are accused of putting our collective heads in the sand and not giving the students what they need to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy, disease, consent conversations, and LGBTQ intolerance.

Can we agree that all people need relationship skills, tools to avoid risky behaviors and skills for life success? Can we agree that school aged children need to be protected from this kind of abuse and terror that Jeffrey Epstein was able to get away with for decades?

joneen@myrelationship center.org www. myrelationshiocenter.org