PG-13 Players Talk Sex Ed During Condom Week
To Whom It May Concern:
Did you know that the week of February 14th, 2017 is about more than candies, valentines, and flowers? It is also recognized across the United States as National Condom Week. Did you also know that in Davidson County in 2014, 23% of reported STD cases were found in young people, ages 10-19? This is one of the many reasons we know spreading the word about National Condom Week is so important!
We are the PG-13 Players, Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee’s high school peer educators. We are trained to become teen sexuality educators, giving our peers access to medically accurate, age-appropriate, empowering sex education. This skill set is especially important in Tennessee, a state where young people in public schools are only taught to remain abstinent until marriage. We are warned of the “physical, social, emotional, psychological, economic and educational consequences of sex outside of marriage,” but not taught how to properly use a condom. Condoms and birth control aren’t even allowed on public school grounds, even for education purposes.
Data from the CDC shares that in 2013, 52% of Tennessee teens reported being sexually active. 59% of those teens who were currently sexually active did not use a condom the last time they had sex. This is why we need your help, Nashville. We know that not having sex is the only 100% effective way to avoid pregnancy and STDs, but we deserve to learn all the information about risk reduction so that we can make informed choices. Young people are smart, Nashville. Trust us with knowledge—we deserve it.
You can see we are passionate about education and National Condom Week is the perfect week to start conversations with the young people in your life! Use this important week to see what they have (or haven’t) learned in school. Be a nonjudgmental space for what can be an awkward topic. Share your family values with your teen—be sure to share why you hold those values. If you feel your teen deserves to learn more than “abstinence-centered until marriage,” in school—get involved! Go to a school board meeting, share your concerns. We need you, Nashville. Our health depends on it.
There are free condoms all over Nashville. Pick some up this week for you or a loved one! Go to www.getyasumgood.com for a map of all the free condom locations in our city and celebrate National Condom Week safely.
Yours in Safety,
The PG-13 Players










