Author Description

The Sex Ed Initiative (SEI) is a youth-led organization founded in 2021 to reform sex ed curricula to be more inclusive and comprehensive. To achieve this goal, SEI is offering Shattering the Taboo, a handbook created by youth for youth, to teach the foundational concepts of sexual health education. Divided into 8 major sections, the handbook offers medically-accurate and easy-to-understand information on topics including anatomy, healthy relationships, STIs, and more. Each section is accompanied by a worksheet and a list of discussion questions is included. The handbook can be used for high school classrooms or individual reflection. Meg McElroy from the ACLU of Illinois, Sean Black from the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Dawn Ravine from the Lurie Children's Hospital, Alison Macklin from SIECUS, and Dr. Supriya Mehta from the University of Illinois Chicago helped us refine our work to ensure the information was medically accurate. While the content does not align with one state in particular, it was made with as much detail and inclusion possible.