It’s Not Just About Sex

Sex and sexuality are often understood to be synonymous, leading to many misconceptions. For example, sexuality education is often misunderstood as ‘sex education’ or ‘permitting experimentation among children’ based on the fear that more the information given, more likely that young people will experiment and engage in sexual behavior. However, studies like Sexuality Education and Young People’s Sexual Behaviour: A Review of Studies, commissioned in 1997 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Global Programme on AIDS have shown evidence to the contrary.

The key point is that sexuality is a lot more than just sex alone. Sexuality encompasses not only sex but also the construct of gender, body image, consent, intimacy, sexual activities, sexual abuse and harassment, sexual identities, pleasure and fantasy, relationships and emotions. Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) aims at treating sexuality as a part of life, not something to be feared and trivialized.