Florida: Teens Broach Subject of Sex

First Defense, a Melbourne, Fla.-based sex education group presented a three-day workshop to eighth-grade boys, and then to girls, at Southwest Middle School in Palm Bay recently. Steve Smith, the group's director, gave statistics on STDs and teen pregnancy and cautioned that condoms are not foolproof protection against either.

First Defense promotes sexual abstinence until marriage, in accord with Brevard School District standards. Its 12 volunteers have presented five-day workshops to many South Brevard high schools over the past six years. Southwest is the first and only middle school to invite the group to work with eighth graders, although principal Robin Novelli thinks the group's effective communication about the risks of sex may attract more schools.

"You can bet all the students were listening very carefully," Novelli said. "It's a subject we need to address because kids are getting involved in sexual activity younger without information to make good decisions."

A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed half of all high school students report being sexually active. The report also noted that one in ten high school girls ages 15-19 becomes pregnant.

Debra Hauser, vice president of Washington-based Advocates for Youth, said teaching kids about sex as early as possible is a good idea, but questioned whether Brevard's abstinence-only approach, which does not allow discussion of contraception, was a successful method.

"Clearly in middle school, an age appropriate message is to delay [having sex]," she said. "However, many young people in middle school are sexually active, and an abstinence only until marriage lesson is completely irrelevant and leads them to high risk."

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