To take care of our health, we need accurate information so we can make decisions about our bodies, our relationships, and our health.
Sex-ed is one of the ways that sexual health information can reach us.
What does it mean for sex-ed to be “comprehensive?”
For sex-ed to be comprehensive, it must:
- Speak to us as whole people (in the context of our real lives, experiences, and communities)
- Reflect the diversity of our experiences, identities, and learning styles
- Meaningfully integrate content relevant to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth
- Share all aspects of sex and sexuality in a sex-positive way
- Centre gender (not just as a topic to be covered, but as a way to help understand our experiences of sex and sexuality)
- Be an effective violence prevention tool. To be effective as a violence prevention tool, consent education and content on gender and power must be included
- Have a solid grounding in human rights (this includes teachings on how to respect the rights of others)
- Empower us to think critically, ask questions, and communicate clearly
- Teach life-skills that help us take responsibility for how our actions might affect those around us
- Nurture empathy and non-judgment (towards ourselves and others)
- Be based on scientific evidence and best available, tested, and evaluated teaching methods
- Have a broad range of information provided that meets a diversity of learning styles
- Be delivered by teachers who are trained in sexuality education and who are supported in their ongoing skill and knowledge development
- Be connected to resources and community supports beyond the classroom
- Reflect and respond to the world around us as it changes
In 2019, Canada got a new set of guidelines for students across the country to get the best possible sex-ed.
To read more about the state of sex-ed in Canadian classrooms, check out our State of Sex-Ed report and our campaign to demand better.