Example of a pedagogical tool: The Austrian Sexkoffer, a "suitcase" of sex education materials used in Austrian schools in the late 1980s, including a booklet intended to explain contraception during sexual education sessions (District Museum Josefstadt, Vienna, Austria)

Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth control, sexual and reproductive health, emotional relationships and responsibilities, age of consent, and reproductive rights.

Sex education that includes all of these issues is known as comprehensive sexuality education. In contrast, abstinence-only sex education, which focuses solely on promoting sexual abstinence, is often favored in more socially conservative regions, including some parts of the United States.

Sex education may be provided as part of school programs, public health campaigns, or by parents or caregivers.[1][2][3] In some countries, it is known as "relationships and sexual health education".[citation needed]

Many governments see it as beneficial to provide public education on such matters before or at the beginning of puberty to improve public health, to limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections, and to avoid teenage pregnancy and unwanted pregnancies later on.

History

In multiple cultures, the discussion of all sexual issues has traditionally been considered taboo, and adolescents were not given any information on sexual matters. Such instruction, as was given, was traditionally left to a child's parents, and it was often put off until just before their marriage. However, in the late 19th century, the progressive education movement led to the introduction of sex education as "social hygiene" in North American school curricula and the introduction of school-based sex education.[4]

During the Second World War, UK governmental concerns grew around mass relocation, parentless youths, and young men and women working together for the first time.[5] Not only were there fears of new sexually transmitted diseases, but there was also growing anxiety around young pregnancy, putting pressure on the war-ravaged economy and healthcare system. As such, the UK Board for Education introduced the Sex Education in Schools and Youth Organizations guidance. This placed the onus of sex education on schools and youth groups and guided leaders on how to implement it. For example, the mechanics of sexual intercourse could be communicated via "the keeping of livestock", as students could observe reproduction in real-time; the guidance also encouraged discussions about menstruation, motherhood courses, and personal hygiene talks. Popular among teachers and some parents, this guidance – which made sex education a possibility, not an obligation – prevailed for many years in the UK.[5]

After the Second World War, some developing countries promoted sex education programs that evolved to address political goals. A growing anxiety in some areas of the world over rising birth rates led to population-centered sex education programs. For instance, the first sex education curriculum in Singapore between 1966 and 1973 emphasized birth control as a way to avoid overpopulation.[6] Reforms in some socialist countries focused on the role of sex education in strengthening family ties within society. This was the focus of sex education programs that developed in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and Cuba during the late twentieth century.[7] The evolving content of sex education programs reflected shifting opinions regarding sexuality within each society. For example, Swedish sex education guidelines and textbooks published between 1945 and 2000 originally depicted masturbation as inherently harmful but increasingly portrayed it as natural and harmless.[8]

The Catholic Church referred to the need for "a positive and prudent sexual education" in its 1965 Declaration on Christian Education, one of the documents issued by the Second Vatican Council.[9]

In the 1970s, informational films became popular among teachers. Martin Cole's Growing Up (1971) was a frank look at how sex works physiologically and socially. It showed real clips of penises and masturbation, which sparked some backlash.[10] However, it became apparent in the 1980s that a frank and factual approach was required in sex education as the HIV/AIDS crisis began in the UK. In 1999, the Labour government introduced Sex and Relationships Education guidance, with particular focus on sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy. This was part of the ten-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, which would eventually be resolved in 2010.[11] Teenage pregnancy rates were halved across this period; similar changes in other countries indicate that this was not an effect of the strategy.[12]

Globally, the outbreak of AIDS has given a new sense of urgency to sex education. In multiple African countries where AIDS is at epidemic levels (see HIV/AIDS in Africa), sex education is seen by most scientists as a vital public health strategy.[13] Some international organizations such as Planned Parenthood consider that broad sex education programs have global benefits, such as controlling the risk of overpopulation and advancing women's rights, including reproductive rights. The use of mass media campaigns has sometimes resulted in high levels of awareness coupled with essentially superficial knowledge of HIV transmission.[14]

According to SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, 93% of adults they surveyed support sexuality education in high school, and 84% support it in junior high school.[15] In fact, 88% of the parents of junior high school students and 80% of parents of secondary school students believe that sex education in school makes it easier for them to talk to their adolescents about sex.[16] Also, 92% of adolescents report that they want both to talk to their parents about sex and to have comprehensive in-school sex education.[17] Furthermore, a "study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research on behalf of the US Department of Health and Human Services, found that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are ineffective."[18]

The current frontier in the development of relationship and sex education (RSE) is LGBTQ+ inclusion. The recent 2019 guidance update is tentative in its acknowledgment of LGBT people, something which has proved controversial among homo- and transphobic groups, as well as among LGBT allies and pro-inclusion sociologists.[19] For example, while Birmingham primary schools were protested by Muslim parents opposing the introduction of LGBT content to the guidance,[20] sociologist Jonathan Glazzard criticized the Department for Education for the document's ambiguity and "opt-out" potential.[19] The inclusion of this form of sex education is argued to make LGBT students feel more included, and that feelings of safety would foster healthy developmental outcomes for this group.[21]

Definitions

Leepson sees sex education as instruction in various physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects of sexual response and reproduction.[22] Kearney (2008) also defined sex education as "involving a comprehensive course of action by the school, calculated to bring about the socially desirable attitudes, practices and personal conduct on the part of children and adults, that will best protect the individual as a human and the family as a social institution."

Thus, sex education may also be described as "sexuality education", which means that it encompasses education about all aspects of sexuality, including information about family planning, reproduction (fertilization, conception and development of the embryo and fetus, through to childbirth), plus information about all aspects of one's sexuality including: body image, sexual orientation, sexual pleasure, values, decision making, communication, dating, relationships, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and how to avoid them, and birth control methods.[22]

Various aspects of sex education are considered appropriate in school depending on the age of the students or what the children can comprehend at a particular point in time. Rubin and Kindendall expressed that sex education is not merely the topics of reproduction and teaching how babies are conceived and born. Instead, it has a far richer scope and goal of helping children incorporate sex more meaningfully into their present and future life, and to provide them with some basic understanding of virtually every aspect of sex by the time they reach full maturity.[23]

Sex education delivered via in-person classroom instruction and workshops led by teachers or trained sex educators is commonly referred to as school-based sex education.[24]

Impacts of sex education

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recommends comprehensive sexuality education, as it enables young people to make informed decisions about their sexuality.[25] According to UNFPA, it is taught over several years, introducing age-appropriate information consistent with the evolving capacities of young people.[25] It includes scientifically accurate, curriculum-based information about human development, anatomy, and pregnancy. It also includes information about contraception and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.[25] And it goes beyond information to encourage confidence and improved communication skills.[25] According to UNFPA, curricula should also address the social issues surrounding sexuality and reproduction, including cultural norms, family life, and interpersonal relationships.[25]

The reach of comprehensive sexual education

A U.S. review concludes that "the overwhelming weight of evidence shows that sex education that discusses contraception does not increase sexual activity".[26][27] The 2007 study found that "No comprehensive program hastened the initiation of sex or increased the frequency of sex, results that many people fear."[27] Additionally, the report showed "Comprehensive programs worked for both genders, for all major ethnic groups, for sexually inexperienced and experienced teens, in different settings, and in different communities."[27]

Further, evidence shows that a combination of comprehensive sexuality education and access to birth control appears to decrease the rates of unintended pregnancies among teenagers.[28] A meta-analysis that compared comprehensive sexuality education programs with abstinence-only programs found that abstinence-only programs did not reduce the likelihood of pregnancy, but rather may have increased it.[29] Studies[which?] show that curricula providing accurate information about condoms and contraception can lead to reductions in the risky behaviors reported by young people as well as reductions in unintended pregnancies and STIs.[25] Programs that teach only abstinence are ineffective.[25] The individuals in this study were also found to be less likely to engage in violent relationships and to have a lower rate of STIs (including HIV) and unintended pregnancy.[25]

Other studies have found that "few sexual health interventions are designed with input from adolescents.[29] Adolescents have suggested that sex education should be more positive with less emphasis on anatomy and scare tactics; it should focus on negotiation skills in sexual relationships and communication; and details of sexual health clinics should be advertised in areas that adolescents frequent (for example, school toilets, shopping centers)."[29]

According to the United Nations Population Fund, human rights issues, gender equality, and gender roles should be integrated into every aspect of these discussions.[25] This includes human rights protection, fulfillment, and empowerment; the impact of gender discrimination; the importance of equality and gender-sensitivity; and the ideas underlying gender roles.[25]

Sexual rights/violence discussions

The United Nations Population Fund argues that sexual abuse, gender-based violence, and harmful practices should be discussed according to the global organization on reproductive rights.[25]  By definition, sexual assault is any sexual activity without clear, voluntary, and ongoing verbal consent, through force, manipulation, or coercion.[30] Sexual violence is a deep-rooted issue in current society, stemming from a need for power and control.[30] It is further propagated by societal norms that tolerate inequality.[30] Taken together to form comprehensive sex education, all this information teaches young people the life skills necessary to assume responsibility for their own behavior and to respect the rights of others."[25]

Comprehensive sexual education “enables young people to make informed decisions about their sexuality and health,” allowing for younger generations to understand concepts of human rights and gender equality.[25] Such skills have been shown to lead to better-informed decisions regarding sex, sexual violence, and consent.[25]

Including this information in Sex Ed courses not only shows what consent looks like but also breaks free of societal norms that lead to violence and teaches students to recognize signs of assault or abuse.[31] Research shows that people who receive comprehensive sex ed are better equipped to speak out against negative behaviors, support victims, and respect the boundaries of others.[31] Studies concluded that by bringing in this knowledge at an early age, correct morals during sexual interactions are ingrained in their lives and will allow them to apply this knowledge in their futures to help victims and speak out against aggressors, allowing them to build safer communities.[31]

However, sexual violence is not always physical; it can be emotional, mental, and psychological manipulation as well.[30] Broader systems of oppression, such as racism and sexism, often reinforce societal beliefs that normalize abuse, while the media and everyday jokes have created environments where sexism, objectification, and violence have become easily dismissed.[31]

Additionally, according to UNFPA, "A 2010 review found that 'gender-focused' curricula – meaning curricula that integrate gender equality into the learning material – were substantially more effective in reducing risky behaviors than programs that did not consider gender."[25] Research has also shown that delay in sexual initiation and the use of condoms and other contraception have been a result of young people adopting egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles.[25]

Case studies

US study on sex-ed and college violence

In the United States, sex-ed curricula, most of which are abstinence-only and abstinence-plus approaches, don't include education on consent or on prevention of sexual violence.[32] While 29 out of 50 states (plus DC) mandate Sex-Ed to be taught in schools, only 16 states (plus DC) mandate the teaching of consent in sexual education, which Caulfield et al. argue has negative effects on the way consent and rape are managed in a collegiate environment.[32][33]

Caulfield et al. conducted a 2024 experiment to examine the effects of different kinds of sexual education on college students’ experiences with sexual violence and rape myth acceptance.[32] In doing their study, they contacted over 600 students, and measured their level of acceptance of rape myths, experience with sexual violence, and type of sexual education received.[32] Their results indicated that those who received comprehensive sexual education during high school were 2.5 times more likely to be taught about consent than those who did not receive comprehensive sex education, indicating that consent education is commonly part of comprehensive sex-ed.[32] Further, the study found that those who were taught consent had a 51% lower likelihood of being sexually victimized than those who were not taught consent.[32]

US - Netherlands study on attitudes towards sex

When places have more comprehensive sexuality education, STI and pregnancy rates drop.[34] The attitudes of children have also been found to differ depending on the content of their sex education.[34] One comparison of results can be made between the sex education curriculum in the Netherlands and that in the US.[35] On average teens in Europe and the Netherlands (which have more comprehensive sex ed) do not have sex at a younger age than teens in the US (with less comprehensive sex ed); however teens in the Netherlands report having a positive and consensual first sexual experience while 66% of sexually active US teens report that they wished they waited longer for their first sexual experience.[35]

Nine out of ten teens in the Netherlands use contraception during their first sexual experience, which contributes to the lower pregnancy and STI rates.[36] More comprehensive sex ed starting at the elementary level resulted in appreciation of sexual diversity, dating and intimate partner violence prevention, development of healthy relationships, prevention of child sex abuse, improved social/emotional learning, and increased media literacy.[24]

Sources

A 67 m (220 ft) long "condom" on the Obelisk of Buenos Aires, Argentina, part of an awareness campaign for the 2005 World AIDS Day

Sex education may be taught informally, such as when someone receives information from a conversation with a parent, friend, religious leader, or through the media.[37] It may also be delivered through sex self-help authors, magazine advice columnists, sex columnists, or sexual education discussion board web sites.[38][39] Sex education training for parents and educators can also be accessed on the internet through multimedia educational resources, including short videos, created by master sexuality educators.[40][41] Adolescents spend a lot of their time on social media, or watching television. Those same adolescents may also have a hard time talking to their families about sexual matters. A study has shown that mass media interventions; for example, use of teaching sexual education through commercials shown on television, or ads on social media, have proven effective and decreased the amount of unprotected sex.[42] Formal sex education occurs when schools or health care providers offer sex education. Slyer stated that sex education teaches the young person what they should know for their personal conduct and relationship with others.[43] Gruenberg also stated that sex education is necessary to prepare the young for the task ahead. According to him, officials generally agree that some kind of planned sex education is necessary.[44]

Sometimes formal sex education is taught as a full course in the curriculum at junior high school or high school. Other times, it is only one unit within a broader biology, health, home economics, or physical education class. Some schools offer no sex education, since it remains a controversial issue in several countries, particularly the United States (especially concerning the age at which children should start receiving such education, the amount of detail that is revealed, including LGBT sex education,[45] and topics dealing with human sexual behavior, e.g., safe sex practices, masturbation, premarital sex, and sexual ethics).

Wilhelm Reich commented that sex education of his time was a work of deception, focusing on biology while concealing excitement-arousal, which is what a pubescent individual is mostly interested in. Reich added that this emphasis obscures what he believed to be a basic psychological principle: that all worries and difficulties originate from unsatisfied sexual impulses.[46] Leepson asserted that the majority of people favor some sex instruction in public schools, and this has become an intensely controversial issue because, unlike most subjects, sex education is concerned with an especially sensitive and highly personal part of human life. He suggested that sex education should be taught in the classroom.[22] The problem of pregnancy in adolescents is delicate and difficult to assess using sex education.[47] But Calderone[who?] believed otherwise, stating that the answer to adolescents' sexual woes and pregnancy can not lie primarily in school programmes which at best can only be remedial; what is needed is prevention education, and as such, parents should be involved.

When sex education is contentiously debated, the chief controversial points are whether covering child sexuality is valuable or detrimental; whether LGBT sex education should be integrated into the curriculum;[45] the use of birth control such as condoms and hormonal contraception; and the impact of such use on pregnancy outside marriage, teenage pregnancy, and the transmission of STIs. Increasing support for abstinence-only sex education by conservative groups has been one of the primary causes of this controversy. Countries with conservative attitudes towards sex education (including the UK and the U.S.) have a higher incidence of STIs and teenage pregnancy.[48] On the other hand, it seems that in countries where sex education is not part of the curriculum, students show limited knowledge even in basic reproductive issues. For example, in a 2019 study with Greek students, it is reported that about two-thirds of the students failed to name external female genitals, such as the clitoris and labia, even after detailed pictures were provided to them.[49] An editorial of the Journal of Biological Education in 2026 calls for a shift in the way biology education presents reproduction, i.e. the current emphasis on procreation be complemented by a strong focus on sexual pleasure. It is suggested that this could be achieved by increasing attention to the external female reproductive organs and the physiology of sexual arousal.[50]

Public opinion

A survey conducted in Britain, Canada, and the United States by Angus Reid Public Opinion in November 2011 asked adult respondents to look back to their teenage years and describe how useful several sources were in helping them learn more about sex. By far, the largest proportion of respondents in the three countries (74% in Canada, 67% in Britain, and 63% in the United States) said that conversations with friends were "very useful" or "moderately useful." The next most reputable source was the media (television, books, movies, magazines), which was mentioned by three-in-five Britons (65%) and Canadians (62%), and more than half of Americans (54%) as useful. In 2011, Angus Reid Public Opinion said that half of Canadians (54%) and Americans (52%) found their sex education courses at school to be useful, but only 43% of Britons share the same view. And while more than half of Americans (57%) say conversations with family were useful, only 49% of Canadians and 35% of Britons said so.[51] Young people's recommendations about the expansion of sexuality education programs are: To build a more critical assessment of pornography among young people (i.e., porn literacy). Sex Education should include reducing shame associated with viewing pornography, consent, relationship management, negotiation skills, and learning how to please yourself and your partner, body image, sexual expectations, and physical and psychological safety as it relates to pleasure and sexual functioning. To show pornography as a tool and projecting variants of possibilities, also the can and can nots, such as consensual and nonconsensual sex. Young people wanted adults to speak factually about sex. Participants in an Irish study discussed that timing of pornography education should begin with adolescents’ first access to the internet and be age-appropriate: “not going into the nitty-gritty or gory details, but just starting the conversation”.[52]

By area

Africa

Sex education in Africa has focused on stemming the growing AIDS epidemic. Most governments in the region have established AIDS education programs in partnership with the World Health Organization and international NGOs. These programs were undercut significantly by the Mexico City policy, an initiative put in place by President Ronald Reagan, suspended by President Bill Clinton, and reinstated by President George W. Bush. The Global Gag Rule "required nongovernmental organizations to agree as a condition of their receipt of Federal funds that such organizations would neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations...."[53] The policy was again suspended as one of the first official acts by United States President Barack Obama.[54] New HIV infections in Uganda decreased dramatically when Clinton supported a comprehensive sexuality education approach (including information about contraception and abortion).[55] According to Ugandan AIDS activists, the policy undermined community efforts to reduce HIV prevalence and HIV transmission.[56]

Egypt teaches knowledge about male and female reproductive systems, sexual organs, contraception, and STDs in public schools at the second and third years of the middle-preparatory phase (when students are aged 12–14).[57] A coordinated program between UNDP, UNICEF, and the ministries of health and education promotes sexual education at a larger scale in rural areas and spreads awareness of the dangers of female genital mutilation.

Asia

The state of sex education programs in Asia varies by country. The topic of sex education is considered to be controversial because it deals with different topics that are sometimes too vague and too broad to be used effectively in society.[58]

Thailand

In Thailand, there has been progress on sex education, with the boundaries being pushed forward with each revision of the curriculum. The first national policy on sexuality education in schools was announced in 1938, but sex education was not taught in schools until 1978. It was then called "Life and Family Studies", and its content consisted of issues related to the reproductive system and personal hygiene. The education curriculum has been revised several times, involving efforts from both government and non-government sectors, and sex education has been accepted as a problem-solving tool for adolescent sexual reproduction and health issues. This has been a result of educational reform following the National Education Act B.E. 2542, increasing awareness of problems related to adolescents' sexual practices, and the emergence of women's sexuality and queer movements. Another new approach in sexuality education curricula in Thailand has been the Teenpath Project developed by PATH, Thailand. PATH has also succeeded in institutionalizing sexuality education curricula in schools since 2003.

India

Sex education in India remains a controversial subject due to conflicting religious, moral, and cultural beliefs regarding its place in adolescent and youth education. Sexual reproduction and different contraceptive methods are taught in grades 8, 10, and 12 (ages 13–17) compulsorily as a part of the biology course, and some urban schools do have seminars in the area of sex education. In 1993, the Adolescent Education Programme (AEP) was initiated by the Government of India, formalizing the need for sex education and later included in the National Curriculum Framework in 2005.[59] However, there was no consensus among states to make it compulsory,[60] and dedicated comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) has not been mandated in any national school curricula. Some states in India have also banned or refused to implement sex education in their states, citing conflict with traditional Indian values.[61]

In India, there are multiple in- and out-of-school programs promoting sex education, including information on reproduction, sexuality, gender, contraception, STIs, violence, etc. One such example is the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK), launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to address adolescent health programming in the country, including sexual and reproductive health. Non-profit organizations and other groups in the development sector primarily lead the delivery of out-of-school CSE programs. These organizations and collectives also work closely with relevant government ministries and multilateral institutions (such as UNESCO and WHO) to engage in public advocacy and policy change to promote the acceptance and implementation of sex education.

The AIDS prevalence rate in India is lower than that of other countries, despite being home to the world's third-largest population of persons with HIV/AIDS (as of 2023, with South Africa and Nigeria having more).[62] However, AIDS clinics are not universally available and accessible across different geographic regions in the country.[63]