Regional technical consultation on the International Guidelines on Sexuality Education

From 01-09-2009 to 02-09-2009 (Mexico) 

Moving towards minimum standards for effective and comprehensive education on sexuality was the theme of the regional technical consultation on UNESCO’s draft International Guidelines on Sexuality Education, which took place in Mexico City on 1 and 2 September 2009. High-level technical experts on sexuality education from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, the United States of America and Uruguay attended the consultation.

The event was part of the regional follow-up to international commitments made by Latin American and Caribbean countries on comprehensive sexuality education and the response to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). These commitments include those in the Ministerial Declaration “Preventing through education” from the 1st Meeting of Ministers of Health and Education to Stop HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Mexico City in August 2008. In the declaration, the countries set for themselves the goals of increasing the number of schools that offer comprehensive sexuality education programmes and broadening the reach of sexual and reproductive health services, which should be friendly and geared to the needs of adolescents and young people.

UNESCO has proposed a set of guidelines on comprehensive sexuality education to be used as key tools to improve universal access to knowledge and skill development processes, for the full development and enjoyment of an individual’s personal, social, emotional and sexual life.

Comprehensive sexuality education is one of the most complex topics to be addressed in many countries around the world, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Different points of view on the subject often result in inhibiting its inclusion in official school curricula. The most serious consequence of the lack or the inadequacy of comprehensive sexuality education is inappropriate or insufficient information on the risks associated with sexual behaviour and how to prevent them. This situation increases adolescents’ and young people’s vulnerability and risk with regard to HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancies, exploitation, sexual abuse and violence, discrimination and stigma because of sexual orientation, sexual practices and state of health, as well as all other forms of violence.