School-based sexuality education in a complicated world

Purpose of review A comprehensive approach to school-based sexuality education is advocated as best practice and has been found to have a wide range of positive outcomes for people's sexual health and overall wellbeing. The landscape of rising conservative perspectives and policies across the world is, in many places, making it difficult to enact a comprehensive approach to sexuality education in schools, which is to the detriment of young people. Recent findings Recent literature in secondary school-based sexuality education is multiperspectival, with the views of adults as well as adolescent learners represented. Focusing on the perspective of young people from recent studies indicates that school-based sexuality education has the tendency to perpetuate power, privilege, and prejudice; be focused on risk, fear, and shame; and – apart from glimmers of effective practice – be unfit for purpose. Summary In complicated world, the status, content, and implementation of a comprehensive approach to sexuality education is by no means certain. The review concludes by making recommendations for change towards a more inclusive sexuality education; as well as future directions for research in the field.