In classrooms across the country, physical education and health teachers stand in front of the classroom explaining sexually transmitted diseases, diagrams depicting male and female reproductive anatomy, and strategies for disease prevention. But for millions of students around the world, the identities and demographics that they do not address has an overwhelmingly harmful effect of propagating stigma and bias.

Despite growing visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities over recent years, most sexual health education in North America continues to be largely heteronormative: focused exclusively on heterosexual relationships and cisgender bodies. Additionally, there are parts of the country where abstinence is being pushed as the “norm” to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. It leaves LGBTQ+ youth on the margins, invisible and unacknowledged in curricula meant to promote safety and well-being for all students. Having a lack of sexual health education that pertains to LGBTQ students largely makes students of this identity feel more vulnerable and unsupported, while spreading misinformation. This exclusion isn’t just a missed opportunity. It’s a public health failure – and a moral one.

LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience bullying, mental health struggles, and homelessness. Data from the CDC demonstrates that students on the LGTBQ spectrum are more likely to attain sexually transmitted diseases, particularly HIV and syphilis. Young men who have sex with men account for at least two-thirds of new HIV infections in persons aged 13-29, as well as new syphilis cases in this age group as well. In the case of both diseases, men from backgrounds of color are particularly affected. Young women on the LGBTQ spectrum are more likely to have unintended pregnancies and are more likely to contract STDs/ STIs, as compared to female students who identify as heterosexual. Transmasculine youth are also found to have higher rates of unintended pregnancies Research has shown how women who have previously dated men and women are at a higher risk of experiencing dating violence and coercion. LGTBQ youth often turn to substances and recreational drugs as a coping mechanism in the aftermath of structural discrimination and marginalization, with a higher prevalence of substance abuse in LGBTQ populations compared to heterosexual counterparts. Overall, suicide rates are higher in LGBTQ youth compared to heterosexual youth, and seeing the blunt disparities of disparities in sexual health of LGBTQ youth raises an area of concern that could be contributing to the higher suicide rates. Since LGBTQ youth experience more negative sexual health outcomes than their peers, schools across the country offering inclusive sexual health education would be a step in the right direction.