Believe survivors. Change the system. Support Sex Education.
Comprehensive sex education is sexual violence prevention. We need to start getting to the root of prevention, which is education. When young people have the tools – the words and the information they need – they can recognize what is happening to them and have the ability to alert trusted adults. This education creates a culture of accountability with a network of adults who respond appropriately to disclosures of abuse by young people. From child sexual abuse of some of our youngest Nebraskans to sexual assaults on college campuses, Nebraska needs K-12 sex education right now. To delay would be a contribution to the system-wide failures to protect young people in our state.
Every minute we wait to provide life-saving sex education in Nebraska, the greater the opportunity for more harm to happen. We can and we should do better for young people in Nebraska.