which good laws might help vastly
in the war against the social diseases. Moreover, it is obvious that
all laws which help control the social evil will work indirectly
against the social diseases.

[Sidenote: Probable results of instruction.]

In conclusion, it seems probable that popular knowledge of the social
side of sex-hygiene will reduce the amount of venereal disease (1) by
teaching some people the dangers of promiscuity, (2) by adoption of
certain sanitary precautions that lessen danger of infection, (3) by
leading people to seek competent medical aid which, while often
failing to restore the victim's health, will probably eliminate the
danger of contagion for others, and (4) by intelligent support of laws
that directly or indirectly affect the social diseases.

[Sidenote: Social diseases not most important.]

I have given great prominence to the social-sexual diseases in their
relation to sex-education because along this line there has been
developed the widespread interest in sex-instruction as _one_ method of
protecting young people against promiscuity. So far as the questions of
teaching are concerned, my personal view is that some of the other
reasons or problems for sex-instruction are more important, because I
believe that educational emphasis on them will give the greatest
results in improved sexual conditions of society.

Sec. 8. _Third Problem for Sex-instruction: the Social Evil_

So far as the problems of sex-education are concerned, there is nothing
to be gained by an extensive review of commercialized prostitution. It
is generally accepted that the social evil or prostitution is increased
by the common ignorance of young people of both sexes regarding the
physical and social relations of sex.

Of course, it is not true that all prostitution is due to ignorance,
for it often involves enlightened men and women. However, there seems
to be good reason for believing that large numbers of people of both
sexes might be kept out of prostitution by very simple sex-instruction.
Let us look for a moment at some facts concerning the relation of the
ignorance of the women to their entrance into the underworld, and later
consider certain reasons why many men patronize the social evil.

[Sidenote: Why women enter prostitution.]

With regard to the women victims of prostitution, it seems to be
generally accepted that economic pressure, feeble-mindedness, bad
social environment, and unguided instincts,