This past fall, Cal State Northridge Intern Griselda Gines researched external professional development opportunities for the MTSE team. She has expressed to us that this internship allowed her to reflect upon the importance of sexual health education, and to understand that comprehensive sex ed includes a broad scope of issues. She has written this deeply personal blog post in which she shares her personal truth, which has helped to heal and strengthen her. We’ve loved having Griselda as part of our team, and we are certain she will continue to advocate for healthy conversations about sex.

TW: child sexual abuse, sexual assault, miscarriage

I grew up in a strict Catholic Mexican household in which, as a woman, we had daily chores to do and were expected to behave a certain way. Every Sunday we attended mass and had dinner at 6pm everyday followed by chores and our favorite telenovelas. At an early age, my two sisters and I knew when there was anything sexual being displayed on TV; we had to look away. My grandmother took care of her 7 grandkids until I was six years old. After that my sisters and I would stay home alone until my parents came home.