Sexuality in humans is a topic that starts concerning individuals from their early adolescence. It starts with pure curiosity about reproduction and the human organism and young people usually turn to their peers, parents or their school to gain this information. Friends as teens feel safer to ask friends than their family or schools. However, imagine the misconceptions and unclarity created between groups that derive conclusions but have very little knowledge considering their life stage. That is why it is important for sex education to be a topic broadly discussed in classrooms and for teachers to feel comfortable and at ease to open discussions about it. Sex education is not part of the official curriculum at school in many countries and in others it tries to be. In this article we will explore a bit where sex education lies as a course in schools all over the world and in what ways it is taught. Sit comfortably, grab your coffee and let’s start.

The article will include the following:

• International Views on Sex Education
• The case of England
• US Public Schools and Sex Educatiton
• Brazil and Australia & Sex Education

International Views on Sex Education

Most of teen sexual activity in the world is spontaneous, unplanned and sometimes involuntary [1]. Many teenagers engage thus in sexual activities without deep consideration of possible risks or possible pregnancies. These risks are not because of faulty decisions but due to the lack of decision-making skills. Sex education can hold the role of a problem solving factor in this case. In Greece researchers conducted a study aiming to examine student’s knowledge and sources when it comes to sex education. Their results indicated that most students knew about the anatomy of the human reproductive system but that about the function. Males tended to know more about the anatomy than females while females in technical schools knew better about functionality. In addition, most of the students claimed that they would want to know more about the topic and mentioned their interest in talking to a sex education specialist or a school teacher. You can understand then that there is an urge for information coming from the students.

We travel now from Greece, up north to the Netherlands, to check what happens there related to implementing sex education in secondary schools. In Dutch schools there are teachers offering sex education already [2] contary to Greece. As it was already proven that school is an ideal setting for adolescents to be taught how to have protected sex and how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or HIV. There was a discussion, therefore, on how teachers there can make the transfer of knowledge less passive with for example engaging in role plays that imply a skill-oriented form of learning. What is important here is the content of this interactive learning. It is important that students form adequate and deep knowledge not only on the biological level but also socially and romantically. In order to tackle all elements of healthy sexual interactions. For example, teaching students what it means to be in love and what romantic elements are necessary when engaging in healthy relationships. Moreover, learning about the safe and unsafe ways of having sex (e.g. the importance of contraceptives and where to buy them). One should also underline the importance of resisting pressure to have unprotected sex or sex in general when one is not ready / in the mood.

Another study that took place in Spain, examined the difficulties and limitations but also future possibilities for sex education at school. Specifically, they looked at the teacher’s point of view [3]. One main statements was that sex education cannot really exist autonomously as a separate course in schools’ curriculum as it is thought to be a cross-curricular subject and that its content should be incorporated across all courses than be concentrated in an one-hour course. Since in Spanish schools there are not clear outlines as in how to teach sex education, teachers are called to do it their own way. They rely on their own judgement and decide on the material also based on their competencies. Therefore, it is obvious that certain obstacles will arise. For example, fear of parental reactions plays a big role. Fearing that parents will be uncomfortable with their child being exposed to information concerning sensitive content, may inhibit them from delivering it in the first place. Moreover, some parents may be concerned with the lack of time during the academic year and that this will reduce the available time for other courses that they deem more important. Sometimes other school teachers may also raise complaints about feeling like they have less time to teach their subjects. Moreover, many teachers will not feel comfortable to teach such subject especially if they have suffered from sex related traumas themselves and thus be mentally and psychologically unable to teach something like that.

Out of all reasons, not having a precise or demanding educational legislation when it comes to sexual education is the most impactful one. However, teachers in general agree on the importance of teaching Sex Ed. For that reason, a possible start would be the sensitization of school management teams to approve such courses and subsequently, to approach teachers that are the closest to the topic like biology, psychology or even history teachers. If these would start incorporate discussions on sex education in their classes we could reach a cross-sectional course under the same name.

The case of England

England is a great example of what happens with teaching sex and relationship education (SRE) at schools, also concerning the legislation [4]. On March 2017 the then Education Secretary, Justine Greening, announced that she wanted to place relationships and sex education in the main curriculum for all schools in England. More specifically, all primary schools will include ‘’Relationships Education’’, all secondary schools will include ‘’Relationships and Sex Education”.  All parents will have the right of withdrawal of their children from sex education but if children reach 16 years of age and desire to have such classes to have a right to opt- in. At the same time, she noted that a certain flexibility would be given to schools for their approach, including for faith schools to teach within the boundaries of their faith. The topics included in this ‘’Relationships and Sex Education’’ program include topics such as: Relationships, sexual identity and sexual orientation, puberty, menstruation, contraception and abortion. For primary school children that sex education is not yet needed topics like: caring friendships, respectful relationships, online relationships and being safe would be taught. It is clear that when children are in contact with these topics from such a young age it is more unlikely that they will end up misinformed or poorly informed.

US Public Schools and Sex Education [5]

In the US., a study by three PhD graduates examined how desirable would proper sex education be compared to only federal abstinence programmes that are part of public schools in the US. An abstinence-only sex education includes eight main teaching components:

1. The social, psychological, and health gains that come from abstaining from sexual activity
2. That abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school-age children
3. That abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, STDs, and other associated health problems
4. That a mutually faithful monogamous relationships in the context of marriage are the expected standard of human sexual activity
5. That sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects
6. That bearing children out of wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child's parents, and society
7. How to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increases vulnerability to sexual advances
8. The importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity

However, the vast majority of the sample of the study, that being 84%, regardless of their political ideologies responded that they favored a more balanced approach to sex education compared witht the abstinece-only program. The scientific community agreed to that and we can understand why. It is near to impossible that young adults will stop engaging in sexual activities even if they are told so at school. Perhaps, they would even do it more persistently if they comprehend it as something forbidden.

Brazil and Australia & Sex Education

A study in Minas Gerais, Brazil concerning public schools [6] examined possible changes in sexual behavior in adolescents who participated in a school- based sex education program in public schools in four different municipalities. The program dealt with reproductive rights, risks involved in unsafe sexual practises and with a focus on positive aspects of sexuality. Their results confirm that sex education programs can be effective in generating positive changes, such as an increase in condom and contraceptive use, in the sexual behavior of adolescents targeted by these programs. Although the inclusion of sex education in school has become an official policy of the Federal Government, the implementation of such policies depends on the municipal and state governments and has lagged well behind expectations, as in practically every other developing country.

In Australia on the other hand [7], sex education is taught in schools however, teachers again share some concerns while teaching the  program and they even reported that they feel uncomfordable when faced with specific questions from the kids like the topic of ‘’wet dreams’’ or discussing about the clitorisand the vagina as they thought girls felt uncomfordable. Another teacher stated the following: ‘’I find with sexuality the hardest thing is intercourse. The kids all think ‘Oh yuk, why would anyone want to do that?’ but then you have to go into the whole relationship bit and there are so many different attitudes and value judgments concerning relationships nowadays … it has changed over the years … there is more diversity now’’. You observe then that even if sex education is offcially a part of a school’s program there is still a long way to reach the healthiest and most subtle or to be fair, direct- but- without- being- pervasive way to teach this topic and teacher above all should be educated and study a lot in oder to deliver this subject in the best way for children to both understand but also feel comfortable enough to share experiences, thoughts and most importantly ask questions.

Personal author note: I know that the sample of countries I decided to include here is not representative of the whole of the world and I am really sorry for that. I would love to go and on about how sex education is taught or viewed in Hong Kong or Chile but the list is neverending and I did not want to lose your attention in the ‘’middle of the world’s map’’, so here we are with some views and concerts about the topic os sex and relationshp education. Starting from Greece things do not seem that bright since this subject is non existent, but ‘’travelling’’ across Europe, England, the US, Australia and Brazil we realize that there is a future concerning sex education in schools, however not without teacher’s and parents’ concerns together with legislations and state decisions about school programms. Because sometimes educators are really competent and open to new topics like that but states tend to follow more conservative views and keep children in the shadows about really important issues that will help them grow into sexually healthy adults and most importantly people that care about multiple romantic and sexual aspects in life.

I hope you found this article a little bit enlightening concerning the topic osf sex education in schools around the world, feel free to leave any comments or share your thoughts like:

• Did you have receive sex education at school?
• How was it?
• Was it helpful?

And finally I would recommend of course the well- known Netflix show called:

• Sex Education, Netflix
• Come as you are - book by Emily Nagoski

References

[1] Matziou V,  Perdikaris P,  Petsios K,  Gymnopoulou E,  Galanis P,  Brokalaki H. Greek students' knowledge and sources of information regarding sex education, Int Nurs Rev, 2009, vol. 56 (pg. 354-60)

[2] Wiefferink, C. H., Poelman, J., Linthorst, M., Vanwesenbeeck, I., van Wijngaarden, J. C. M., & Paulussen, T. G. W. (2004). Outcomes of a systematically designed strategy for the implementation of sex education in Dutch secondary schools. Health Education Research, 20(3), 323–333. doi:10.1093/her/cyg120

[3] Martínez, J. L., Carcedo, R. J., Fuertes, A., Vicario-Molina, I., Fernández-Fuertes, A. A., & Orgaz, B. (2012). Sex education in Spain: teachers’ views of obstacles. Sex Education, 12(4), 425–436. doi:10.1080/14681811.2012.691876

[4] Long., R. (2019). Relationships and Education in Schools (England), Briefing Paper. House of Commons Library. No.: 06103

[5] Bleakley A, Hennessy M, Fishbein M. Public Opinion on Sex Education in US Schools. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160(11):1151–1156. doi:10.1001/archpedi.160.11.1151

[6] Andrade, H. H. S. M., Mello, M. B. de, Sousa, M. H., Makuch, M. Y., Bertoni, N., & Faúndes, A. (2009). Changes in sexual behavior following a sex education program in Brazilian public schools. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 25(5), 1168–1176. doi:10.1590/s0102-311x2009000500023

[7] Jan Milton (2003) Primary School Sex Education Programs: Views and experiences of teachers in four primary schools in Sydney, Australia, Sex Education, 3:3, 241-256, DOI: 10.1080/1468181032000119122