Educating young women on health issues and making wise choices.?
June 14th, 2010 | 
Author: Why do you feel it is important that young women are educated on health issues and making wise choices. How can an organization show their support.
This is not directed towards me but I just want to hear peoples answers. I am helping a non profit organization out by getting peoples opinions. So please no smart comments as this is an adult conversation for mature people who want to participate in a good cause. Thank you.
Great answers so far. But what can other businesses in the community do to support this organization?
Posted in Women's Health FAQs | 
Tags: adult conversation, health issues, non profit organization, smart comments, wise choices, young women
I believe that young teens need more than just the basic education about menstruation, ejeculation, and "health class" drawings of reproductive organs and (if they’re lucky) birth control options. They need to see real pictures of gentials, so they won’t be so curious about what the opposite sex looks like (honestly, those classroom drawings just aren’t the same). They need to know the nitty-gritty about sex – that’s it’s messy and awkward – not some romanticized version of love and changing-the-world experience, etc. Take the mystery and mythology out of it and fewer teens will get involved before they are truely ready for sex. If it’s not forbidden knowledge, there’s less need to obtain it.
I believe, too, that no matter how open parents are about sex, teens naturally aren’t going to be comfortable asking or telling their parents. That’s the natire of being a teen. They do need someone and someplace they can get reliable and confidential information – trained adults with that younger-than-my-parent look and attitude, much like being able to talk to an older sibling or friend. Parents should welcome this third party to parenting teens (not feel like their "job" is being compromised – a trained adult probably knows as much or more than the parent does, and isn’t that what teens really need, good information?).
And I think there should be monitored sessions with a trained leader where teens and their parents, as a family or a largerer group (even mixed gender groups sometimes), can openly talk about sex and relationships, and whatever. Just like they were all friends (and parents shouldn’t be afraid to tell about those awkward moments they have, sure some things might be embarrassing, but the teens will learn that sex is natural, parents have sex, that sex is not perfect,and there’s nothing to be ashamed of in talking about it, and heck, if a parent learns their teen isn’t a virgin, they can start relating more as adults with them about it since once they loose it, you can’t force them to abstain, and they need to take adult responsibility for their bodies).
My wife and I are fairly open with out daughter about the realities of biology and sex. She knows more than many of her friends, which sometimes makes other parents uncomfortable, but on occassion, one of her friends (and once, a friend’s parent) have asked us to discuss an issue with them (the teen, not the parent) because we are open and comfortable talking to them about it.
It is very important to educate girls and young women on health issues and making wise informed decisions. Just look at some of the questions this site gets asked every day.
Why can’t girls and young women talk to there mums any more? I am sure there are some web sites that can give reputable information to girls and young women.
I think it is sad that a 13yo child says that she is pregnant and doesn’t know what to do. What happened to her original decision to have unprotected sex?
You need to be very open and liberal, which may distress some parents and community elders. Girls and young women go through massive changes from the age of 10 through to the early 20′s sometimes. So they need proper information – not a lecture on the sins of sex as a teenager.
Go for it and I hope you help a lot of lost girls and young women; that is lost in their development.
Best wishes
Abide in Peace
Educating young women about safe and healthy choices is a must nowadays because girls are becoming sexually active at ages younger than 12 and due to ignorance, curiosity, precocity or something else they get into trouble easily. Trouble meaning that they experiment with drugs, sexual activity and end up addicted to drugs, pregnant and/or contracting an STD, HIV or AIDS before turning 18.
Unfortunately, not everybody is on the same page and due to different factors such as religion and politics, sexual education in schools is not always implement. Furthermore, some parents don’t want to have the "sex talk" because they either feel no need to or don’t know how to approach it.
Organizations such as the one you describe should reach young girls to make them know that they’re not alone. They should know about peer pressure or boys lieing to get in their pants. They should know that it takes one time to get something for life -that in sometimes could be fatal- or to get pregnant.
Forums like this one are supportive even there are people that come to them to put others down, post rude or lude comments, or post stupidities.