Sex can happen anytime, anywhere and with anyone. Friends talking in the playground, family talking around the dinner table, a bizarre website you stumble across – all of these can be sex education moments. But that doesn’t mean what you’re learning is accurate, or that it will be helpful to you. For that, you need to make sure you’re getting good sex education. Whether you’re sixteen or ninety-six, you’re bound to have some questions and some concerns about sex, and you deserve to get answers that will help you. Which raises an important question; what makes for good sex education?
The information being conveyed should rely on the latest scientific knowledge about sexuality and sexual health. Information should not be conveyed based solely on values, moral, or political positions. There is room to discuss these things, but the concrete information about how our bodies work, and the social and psychological aspects of sexuality must be based on scientific research.
The World Health Organization refers to sexuality as an intrinsic part of human experience. Good sex education approaches sexuality in context. It may not “cover everything” but it doesn’t segregate sex and treat it as a completely separate phenomenon from the rest of our experience.