Sex education
Instruction on human sexuality across cultures and eras.
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. It may be provided as part of school programs, public health campaigns, or by parents or caregivers, and many governments see it as beneficial to provide public education on such matters before or at the beginning of puberty to improve public health, limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections, and avoid teenage pregnancy and unwanted pregnancies.
- field
- Public health, education
- known_for
- Instruction on human sexuality, including comprehensive and abstinence-only approaches
- key_forms
- Comprehensive sexuality education, abstinence-only sex education
- providers
- Schools, public health campaigns, parents or caregivers
- global_reach
- Implemented in multiple countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Sweden, German Democratic Republic, Cuba, and African nations
Lore & Background
In multiple cultures, discussion of all sexual issues has traditionally been considered taboo, and adolescents were not given any information on sexual matters. Such instruction was traditionally left to a child's parents, often put off until just before marriage. In the late 19th century, the progressive education movement led to the introduction of sex education as 'social hygiene' in North American school curricula. During the Second World War, UK governmental concerns around mass relocation, parentless youths, and young men and women working together led the UK Board for Education to introduce the Sex Education in Schools and Youth Organizations guidance, placing the onus of sex education on schools and youth groups.
Reader's Guide
Sex education has evolved significantly over time, reflecting shifting societal opinions regarding sexuality. After the Second World War, some developing countries promoted sex education programs that evolved to address political goals, such as population control in Singapore or strengthening family ties in socialist countries like the German Democratic Republic and Cuba. The outbreak of AIDS globally gave a new sense of urgency to sex education, with many scientists seeing it as a vital public health strategy in African countries with epidemic levels of HIV. The current frontier in relationship and sex education is LGBTQ+ inclusion, which has proved controversial among both homo- and transphobic groups and among LGBT allies and pro-inclusion sociologists. According to SIECUS, 93% of surveyed adults support sexuality education in high school, and 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.
Did You Know?
- The UK Board for Education introduced the Sex Education in Schools and Youth Organizations guidance during the Second World War, which suggested teaching the mechanics of sexual intercourse via 'the keeping of livestock'
- A study by Mathematica Policy Research on behalf of the US Department of Health and Human Services found that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are ineffective.
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