Sex Education (also called sexuality education) is an age-appropriate, evidence-based teaching about human sexuality, sexual health, relationships, consent, and reproductive biology. It provides people with accurate and non-judgmental information to help them make informed choices.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sexuality education equips young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to protect their health and develop respectful relationships, make responsible choices and understand and protect the rights of others.

UNESCO describes Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as a curriculum covering cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality and relationships.

 » Improve knowledge and skills

- Provide accurate information about bodies, reproduction, and health to make informed decisions.

» Promote healthy behaviors

- Help young people delay sexual initiation, reduce risk behaviors like unprotected sex, and protect against STIs and unintended pregnancy.

» Support respectful and safe relationships

- Teach about consent, boundaries, communication, and mutual respect in relationships.

» Encourage emotional and social well-being

- Help learners develop positive attitudes toward their bodies, sexuality, relationships, and diversity.

Sex education programs vary widely, but the approach most strongly supported by health authorities is Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). This approach integrates a wide range of topics, including biological, emotional, social, and rights based aspects of sexuality and human relationships.

Other approaches, such as abstinence-only education, focus mainly on refraining from sexual activity until marriage. Research indicates that these programs are generally less effective, and in some cases ineffective, at achieving positive sexual and reproductive health outcomes when compared to Comprehensive Sexuality Education.

» Delayed and safer sexual activity

- Research reviews commissioned by the United Nations indicate that CSE programmes can lead to delayed initiation of sexual activity and safer sex behavior when young people do become sexually active.

» Improved health awareness and knowledge

- Curriculum-based sex education programs increase young people’s knowledge about reproduction, sexual health risks, and contraception options. This supports better decision making about sexual health.

» Broader psychosocial benefits

- Systematic research over three decades finds that comprehensive sex education contributes to outcomes such as improved understanding of sexual diversity, prevention of intimate partner violence, development of healthy relationships and better media literacy related to sexuality and relationships.

» No evidence of harm

-Global guidance and evidence consistently conclude that high-quality CSE does not increase sexual activity or risky behaviors among young people. 

» Protection against abuse and exploitation

- Teaching about rights, boundaries and consent can help children recognize and respond to abusive situations and reduce vulnerability to sexual exploitation.

» Promotion of gender equality and respect
- Programs that include gender and power dynamics help learners understand equality between males and females, and reduce harmful gender norms that contribute to violence and discrimination.

» Counteracting misinformation and digital risks

- Because young people often turn to the internet for sexuality information, formal education helps correct inaccurate or harmful information found online and supports safer engagement with digital content.