Healthy Sexuality

Students develop skills to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

Girls Inc of New York City’s Healthy Sexuality program offers a comprehensive, science-based, and culturally sensitive sexual and reproductive health curriculum, which recognizes sexuality as a key element of the whole girl and considers participants’ cultural and socioeconomic contexts. Incorporating medically accurate and age-appropriate Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), the Healthy Sexuality program focuses on building participants’ knowledge and sense of agency, and includes discussions on anatomy, consent, risks, protection, choices, identity, stereotypes, and positive self-image—all CSE elements that have produced healthy and positive outcomes for youth.

Teen sexuality has undergone a major transformation in recent years:

• Increased teen girls are reporting depression, suicidal thoughts; suffering from the aftermath of isolation.  
• Sexual identity has become much more varied with greater awareness and education about trans people and gender identities.
• Many sexual health and reproductive health services have been suspended— especially in low income communities of color.