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Updated Jan. 18

Adriana Presas didn鈥檛 learn about sex at home, and the sex ed she received in high school was limited to an anatomical review of reproduction. She definitely didn鈥檛 learn about sexual violence, rape culture, or power differentials.

That wasn鈥檛 a problem until September 2014, the start of her senior year in high school in Lansing, Michigan.

Adriana thought she was going out to lunch with a friend, E.J. Jackson. But E.J. drove her to a secluded part of the school鈥檚 grounds and attempted to force himself on her. After Adriana briefly escaped, E.J. 鈥減ushed her back into the [car],鈥� 鈥渃hoked her with both his hands wrapped around her neck,鈥� and raped her, .

This was over three years ago, before a seismic shift in cultural attitudes regarding sexual violence. At the time, Bill Cosby was more associated with comedy than , Bill O鈥橰eilly had the most-watched cable news show on TV, and Harvey Weinstein was focused on the upcoming release of Paddington.

Now, backed by the momentum of the taboo-shattering #metoo movement, students across the country are attempting to raise awareness of sexual assault by broadening what鈥檚 taught across K-12. They favor comprehensive sex ed, which focuses on sexual behavior, healthy relationships, decision-making, and the influence of society and culture on sex. Subjects like affirmative consent 鈥� in which all partners actively, consciously, and voluntarily consent to sex 鈥� are central.

What is driving many of these youth advocates, according to more than a dozen interviews with students, educators, lawyers, and others, is fear 鈥攁nd a sense of fairness.There are few illusions that better sex ed on its own will curb sexual assault, but with researchers finding that as many as will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18, the students and their supporters think these efforts are an important start.

Advocates face an uphill battle. Beyond educators鈥� usual concerns 鈥� lack of class time, funding, training, and curricula 鈥� there are sensitivities about wading into a cultural chasm. Abstinence-only supporters are afraid, and conservative organizations like Focus on the Family argue that sex-ed is , not schools. There are also concerns about whether affirmative consent is a standard.

Nationally, . One state 鈥� California 鈥� requires consent to be taught.

Back in Michigan, Jackson is now in prison on a minimum seven-year sentence. Adriana left the state, but in 2017 she started sharing her story publicly in the hopes that it will increase awareness and prevent future assaults.

鈥淚 knew it was a problem, and it happened, but I鈥檇 never experienced anything like that and I didn鈥檛 know anyone who did,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut as soon as it happened to me, there were a lot of people in my life who came to me and said the same thing happened to them. It was one after another after another, and it just opened my eyes.鈥�

鈥楢 Cultural Shift Needed to Happen鈥�

Some of the efforts to revamp sex ed predate the current #metoo moment. A few months before Adriana was raped, four female students at a nearby Michigan high school formed a club, Students for Gender Equality, after growing exasperated with a mandatory cyber safety presentation.

鈥淭he faculty member [spoke] about聽women sending explicit photos, with no mention of men doing the same,鈥� Sara Faverman, one of the club鈥檚 founders at East Lansing High School, wrote in an email. 鈥淭his was supplemented by that men had no active involvement or responsibility聽in sending explicit pictures as well as sharing them without consent of the sender. As this was happening, quite a few students were聽pointing to female students [who] had sent explicit pictures, and it became what felt like聽a public shaming for the women and an entertaining joke for聽male students.

鈥淚 think the four of us sat [there] surveying the room and realized how little accountability was placed on men in our school, and that a culture shift needed to happen.鈥�

As part of the club鈥檚 awareness campaign, it hosted a local state Senator, Curtis Hertel, Jr., a Democrat, and together they reviewed the state鈥檚 sex ed policies. At this point, Adriana鈥檚 rape and another sexual assault at Adriana鈥檚 high school were both in the news. Faverman and her friends decided that requiring consent to be taught in schools could be a way to address 鈥渨hat kind of culture was being created and reinforced.鈥�

Hertel, Jr. introduced a corresponding bill in 2015 that would require all Michigan schools that teach sex ed to also teach consent.

The bill stalled in the legislature, but聽Hertel, Jr. . Though the move came five days after the Harvey Weinstein story broke in the New York Times, Hertel, Jr. said the timing was coincidental, and had more to due with the influence of Michigan鈥檚 first lady, Sue Snyder, a Republican, who has made sexual assault prevention a priority.

The revised bill currently sits with the Senate Education Committee. Republican Senator Phil Pavlov, who chairs the Committee, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

鈥淲e talk to our girls a lot about avoiding certain situations 鈥� when not to walk, what not to wear, where to put their drink 鈥� but we don鈥檛 talk at all to men about their responsibility and their respect for someone else鈥檚 body,鈥� said Hertel, Jr. 鈥淎s someone who has sons and someone who has daughters, I鈥檓 aware of that difference, and I think it鈥檚 leading a lot to the problems we have on our campuses.鈥�

The problems are national, and Michigan is no exception. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education was 鈥� the University of Michigan, Grand Valley State University, Alma College, and Michigan State University 鈥� for their handling of sexual assault claims. In June, three Michigan State football players were after being charged with sexual assault. In December, former Michigan State sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was also the team doctor for USA Gymnastics, was on child pornography charges. He also faces charges for sexual assault cases involving 125 women, including Olympians Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.

A National Spotlight on Consent

Over the last two years, there has been an increase in state lawmakers across the country introducing bills related to encouraging healthy relationships among students, preventing violence, and teaching consent in public schools, according to Chitra Panjabi, President and CEO of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, which tracks such legislation nationwide. She said students are fueling many of the efforts at the local and the state levels.

鈥淜ids are showing up at school board meetings, and they鈥檙e advocating for themselves, [saying] 鈥榃e need to learn about rape and sexual assault,鈥欌�� said Panjabi. 鈥淚t鈥檚 necessary.鈥欌��

To date, the efforts are piecemeal. In November, Panjabi鈥檚 organization partnered with activist Tarana Burke, who , to launch #TeachThem, a campaign advocating for comprehensive sex ed. Last week, a parent organization .

In Maryland, Lisae C. Jordan, executive director and counsel for the聽Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told the Washington Post in November that her organization is lobbying for a bill that would require , starting in middle school.

In Massachusetts, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is working with the state attorney general and Northeastern University鈥檚 Center for the Study of Sport in Society on an anti-violence and healthy relationship education program that has reached more than 3,000 high school students and, , is looking to expand into another state.

And in southern California, then-high school students Brianna Tuomi and Lauren Foley co-founded the Talk Project in 2016 through the Los Angeles chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women. During an internship with the council, they became more aware of the sexual assault epidemic on college campuses. But neither student felt like their high school was adequately preparing them for the real world. Tuomi said her school did not talk at all about sexual violence; Foley said her all-girls school focused on self-defense.

鈥淲e鈥檙e teaching sex wrong,鈥� Foley said. 鈥淲hy do I need to learn how to protect myself, and why is this something that is being perpetuated? Why has this gone on for generations and generations?鈥�

鈥淲e need to reshape and redefine what the 鈥榯alk鈥� is about,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about the birds and the bees. It鈥檚 more comprehensive. It鈥檚 the duty of our educators, our parents, our schools, as early as possible, to teach consent.鈥�

Pushing for Change in Michigan

In Michigan, the fight continues. Adriana sued her high school for creating a hostile educational environment in violation of , which requires schools to publicly post policies on sex discrimination as well as designate a coordinator to review complaints. The Lansing School District ; nationally, public school districts agreed to .

In a statement, the Lansing School District said, “The court approval is an action that speaks for itself.鈥�

Meanwhile, Hertel, Jr. is planning a rally at the State Capitol in Lansing this spring with sexual assault survivors sharing their stories in order to put pressure on his colleagues to pass the bill.

鈥淭his seems like basic common sense and basic morality,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 have to do this, but we obviously do.鈥�

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