Sexuality education

Schools are one of the few institutional spaces where dialogue on sexuality education can take place. Adolescents and youth aged 10 to 24 are vulnerable to: pregnancy, sexual orientation-related violence, gender and sexual violence, racial and ethnic discrimination, covert and symbolic violence, including bullying, inside and outside schools. Schools and the education sector need to be strengthened in order to reduce adolescent and youth risk behaviours, preferably without being bogged down by prejudices and taboos. This book analyzes the perceptions of students and teachers at a Federal District (Brazil) high school education centre in relation to sexuality education strategies. The inclusion of sexuality education at school is found to be effective. There is no increase in sexual activity as a result of including sexuality education topics at school; cases of pregnancy at school are reduced; there is increased dialogue between parents and their children about sexuality; as well as reduced discrimination at school in relation to sexuality issues.