Sexuality education as a human right: from moral panic to empowerment through education

A blog post by Lisa L B, following their master’s thesis

Human rights-based sexuality education is a fundamental right of children and young people, with significant implications for their health, wellbeing, and overall quality of life. It is critical because it facilitates access to other basic rights like healthcare, education, safety, equality, and freedom from discrimination. 

Over the last few years inclusive sexuality education, meant to encompass the experiences of LGBTQ+ people (here as an umbrella term for different sexual orientations and gender identities), has been increasingly demonised in UK media and politics, and framed as “transgender indoctrination” and a threat to children’s safety and well-being (Marshall, 2024; Setty, Ringrose and Hunt, 2024). In 2024, the Conservative government published a Draft Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (RSHE) Guidance, intending an update to the statutory guidance, outlining the national legal requirements that schools must follow for RSHE. The draft proposed age restrictions on certain topics and a ban on discussions of “gender identity.” 

My master’s thesis analysed the draft policy, situating it within a broader context of growing opposition to inclusive education and global rise of anti-gender movements that threaten to roll back hard-won sexual and reproductive rights for young people. The research combined policy analysis and interviews with RSHE practitioners. I used the “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” (WPR) framework (Bacchi and Goodwin, 2016) - a method that helps uncover hidden assumptions and power dynamics behind policies, and to evaluate its effect on people’s lives. 

Image by Evie K

I found that, by failing to position young people as rights-holders, the policy is likely to increase stigma around sexuality-related topics and further marginalise LGBTQ+ identities and relationships, thereby causing harm rather than preventing it. Echoing concerns of civil society experts, including School of Sexuality Education’s response to the draft guidance, my study shows that the policy is not fit for purpose. 

I wrote my thesis using the then RSE guidance draft, which was opened to public consultation. Since this time, the final Statutory RSHE Guidance has been published (July 2025). While the final version differs from the draft I originally studied, my findings remain relevant and a timely reminder that we need a children’s rights perspective in RSHE. Many of the points experts were critical of have indeed been included in what is now the statutory guidance.

So, what do we mean by human rights-based sexuality education?

It is also commonly referred to as Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and generally understood as a positive approach that promotes scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, rights-based, and comprehensive information (UNESCO et al., 2018; UNESCO, 2024). “Comprehensive” means that it goes beyond basic reproductive biology and contraception to include topics like relationships, consent, power and gender norms.

The aim of this approach is not only to improve overall health, but also to promote empowerment and civic engagement. It is grounded in the notion that for sexuality education to meaningfully support and protect the rights of all children and young people, it must be inclusive and incorporate critical reflection on intersecting systems of power and privilege. This requires youth-centred and participatory pedagogies (teaching strategies or approaches to teaching). In practice, this can involve interactive learning activities, such as group discussions and opportunities for critical reflection, that build on students’ existing knowledge, experiences, and environments. This way of teaching helps make learning more engaging, relevant, and supportive of critical thinking (Berglas, Constantine, and Ozer, 2014). 

Human rights-based sexuality education requires the recognition of young people’s sexual rights (Berglas, Constantine and Ozer, 2014), meaning that everyone should have the freedom and ability to make informed choices about their own sexual and reproductive lives, while respecting the choices of others (Miller et al., 2015). The approach is underpinned by the assumption that young people are developing agency and the capacity to exercise their sexual rights in their own best interest as long as they receive the right information and support. 

Young people’s right to human rights-based sexuality education is firmly grounded in international law. It is established by treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (United Nations, 1966), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (United Nations, 1979), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). As a signatory to these treaties, the UK government has a legal obligation to uphold and protect this right. 

What did I find? 

I identified the age restrictions and the proposed ban on discussions of gender identity as the two main changes in the 2024 draft. My findings also highlight the underlying assumptions behind these proposals and their potential effects.

• First, young people are not positioned as rights-holders. The draft is based on the assumption that children and young people are innocent, vulnerable, and not developmentally ready to engage with certain topics. This positions children as passive learners rather than active and capable rights-holders. In this way, the proposed age restrictions are likely to foster a culture of silence and stigma around sex-related topics and questions in schools, ultimately undermining the preventative safeguarding function of RSHE.

• Second, the ban on teaching about gender identity is directly harmful to trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse young people, while also making rights-based RSHE harder to deliver. The draft assumes that gender is binary and biologically determined, framing teaching about gender identity as “controversial” and potentially harmful. This framing fuels the idea that such topics might “influence” children to question their gender. In turn, it reinforces the belief that everyone should conform to cisgender and heterosexual norms, i.e. cisheteronormativity, while erasing trans and non-binary youth and limiting efforts to tackle bullying, harassment, and discrimination.

• In contrast, the practitioners I interviewed viewed young people as sexual subjects and rights-holders. They all stressed the importance of intersectionality and inclusive teaching. They asserted that banning discussions of gender identity will not only harm trans and non-binary students, but that it will also make it difficult to teach about overlapping issues such as gendered stereotypes, sexism, gender-based violence, and the rise of online misogyny.

In summary, the 2024 Draft RSHE Guidance does not position young people as rights-holders. It risks reinforcing stigma around sex and sexuality, while upholding cisheteronormativity and discrimination. The 2025 RSHE Guidance, on which it is based, perpetuates these same problems. 

Image by Evie K

It also reflects a broader political shift in which social justice initiatives are reframed as extreme or dangerous. In this context, LGBTQ+ inclusive RSHE in England has been portrayed as a threat to childhood innocence, with the 2024 Draft RSHE Guidance positioned as a “normal” or “commonsense” response.

Ultimately, the direction taken with the new RSHE Guidance risks harming young people and undermining inclusive, rights-based education.

The case for a human rights perspective in RSHE  

The lack of a children’s rights perspective identified in my findings aligns with previous research (Daly & Heah, 2023; Heah, 2024; Pilcher, 2005; Setty & Dobson, 2023). Studies show that sexuality education in England has historically been framed primarily as a public health issue rather than as a matter of children’s individual rights (Daly & Heah, 2023). At the same time, considerable emphasis has been placed on parents’ rights to make decisions about their child’s education (Pilcher, 2005).
The way we talk about, understand, and relate to children and young people, often in implicit ways, has a direct impact on policy and how RSHE is delivered in practice, with very real consequences for young people's health and wellbeing (Heah, 2024). 

Treating childhood and adolescence as nonsexual or pre-sexual phases reinforces the idea that young people are incapable and incompetent when it comes to sex and relationships. As a result, their right to participation, as outlined in the UNCRC, will not be meaningfully extended to them (Moore, 2013). 

The human rights perspective reminds us that we need to listen to and involve young people in RSHE. Today, most are increasingly aware of the gendered and sexualised world around them, largely because of their (near) unlimited access to news, information, and sexual content online. They often have a clear idea of the RSHE they want and need, but are rarely consulted (Renold et al., 2023). In response, we must create space for a shift in power between students and teachers, adopting more participatory and critical approaches to teaching and pedagogy. When young people are actively involved in shaping their education, it is far more likely to be relevant and meaningful for all students.

Finally, a human rights perspective functions as an important accountability mechanism, reminding us of the UK government’s responsibility under international law to protect and fulfil the right to rights-based RSHE.

What now?

While the final Statutory RSHE Guidance have scrapped the age restrictions that were set out in the draft version, it is still excluding of trans, non-binary, intersex, asexual and gender non-conforming students, putting them at risk of further marginalisation and discrimination. Some LGBTQ+ rights groups are calling for the removal and immediate revision of the guidance for those exact reasons, although the feasibility of such a call to action is yet to be seen. In the meantime, School of Sexuality Education say they urge both educators and parents to do everything they can to advocate for young peoples’ rights within the current framework. Every child and young person should have equal access to rights-based sexuality education that genuinely puts their best interests at heart.  

Further information: 

Lisa is a postgraduate from Sweden with a joint master’s degree in Human Rights Policy and Practice from the University of Gothenburg, the University of Deusto, the University of Roehampton, and the Arctic University of Norway. Her work focuses on human rights and sexuality education, with a particular interest in feminist, intersectional, and rights-based approaches to development, advocacy, and policy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and has developed her academic perspective alongside work in civil society, engaging in advocacy and volunteer roles.

You can read my full thesis here.

References: 

Bacchi, C. and Goodwin, S. (2016) Poststructural policy analysis: a guide to practice. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central (Accessed: April 9 2025).

Berglas, N.F., Constantine, N.A. and Ozer, E.J. (2014) ‘A rights-based approach to sexuality education: conceptualization, clarification and challenges’, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 46(2), pp. 63–72.

Cammaerts, B. (2022) ‘The abnormalisation of social justice: the “anti-woke culture war” discourse in the UK’, Discourse and Society, 33(6), pp. 730–743. Available here

Daly, A.C. and Heah, R. (2023) ‘Mandatory relationships and sex education (RSE) in England—educators’ views on children’s rights’, Youth, 3(3), pp. 1013–1029. Available here

Heah, R. (2024) ‘Theorising relationships and sex education (RSE) as a children’s rights issue using a Foucauldian lens’. Available here

Marshall, H. (2024) ‘Beyond panic: navigating the tides of change in relationships and sex education’, Sex Education, 25(3), pp. 324-340. Available here

Miller, A. M., Kismödi, E., Cottingham, J., and Gruskin, S. (2015) ‘Sexual rights as human rights: a guide to authoritative sources and principles for applying human rights to sexuality and sexual health’, Reproductive Health Matters, 23(46), pp. 16–30. Available here

Moore, A. (2013) ‘For adults only? Young people and (non)participation in sexual decision making’, Global Studies of Childhood, 3(2), pp. 163–172. Available here

Pilcher, J. (2005) ‘School sex education: policy and practice in England 1870 to 2000’, Sex Education, 5(2), pp. 153–170. Available here

Renold, E., Bragg, S., Gill, C., Hollis, V., Margolis, R., McGeeney, E., Milne, B., Ringrose, J., Timperley, V., and Young, H. (2023) “We have to educate ourselves”: how young people are learning about relationships, sex and sexuality. London: NSPCC. Available here (Accessed: 2 May 2025).

Setty, E. and Dobson, E. (2023) ‘Department for Education Statutory Guidance for Relationships and Sex Education in England: A Rights-Based Approach?’, Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(1), pp. 79–93. Available here

Setty, E., Ringrose, J. and Hunt, J. (2024) ‘From “harmful sexual behaviour” to “harmful sexual culture”: addressing school-related sexual and gender-based violence among young people in England through “post-digital sexual citizenship”’, Gender and Education, 36(5), pp. 434–452. Available here

UNESCO (2024) Comprehensive sexuality education: for healthy, informed and empowered learners. Available here (Accessed: 7 February 2025).

UNESCO, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and WHO (2018) International technical guidance on sexuality education: An evidence-informed approach. Paris: UNESCO. Available here (Accessed: 7 February 2025).

United Nations (1966) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). New York: United Nations General Assembly. Available here (Accessed: 29 April 2025).

United Nations (1979) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Available here (Accessed: 29 April 2025).

United Nations (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). New York: United Nations General Assembly. Available here (Accessed: 29 April 2025).

Deconstructing Racism in the RSE Classroom: An open call to academics

Young people’s lives are complex. If we want to continue delivering education that’s relevant and meaningful, we need to further understand how racism and exclusion are showing up in classrooms. This is why we are issuing an open call for research collaboration with academics.

Harmful attitudes in the classroom

Unfortunately, homogenising comments from staff are a regular occurrence for us. We hear educators suggest that a student’s “culture” or religion is a barrier to learning, while rarely being able to explain what they mean. Whole communities are spoken about as if they are one voice, and differences within them are ignored.

This matters because RSE isn’t just another subject. It’s about preparing young people for life, helping them form meaningful relationships, and supporting their lifelong sexual and reproductive health. When racism and bias go unchallenged, those opportunities are lost.

Why we need research now

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There is very little research on how educators’ cultural competencies, or lack of them, affect young people’s experiences in RSE. What guidance does exist often falls back on broad-brush assumptions, such as “what people of X culture believe.” This doesn’t reflect reality. Young people within the same community often hold diverse views, shaped by their own identities, families, and experiences.

If we don’t investigate and address these issues, we risk leaving the needs of marginalised young people unmet. The harm can last a lifetime.

Our call to action

That’s why we’re launching an open call for academics to collaborate with us. We’re looking for researchers who want to take an activist approach: reflexive, dynamic, and committed to generating practical recommendations we can use immediately.

As a small charity, we can act fast. We work in both rural and urban schools across the UK, in high-need communities and SEND provisions. We are in classrooms every day, hearing directly from young people. 

This gives us both the access and the responsibility to make change.

Through this collaboration, we want to:

• raise awareness of harmful attitudes and practices we see daily;

• give educators tools to deconstruct racist ideas and challenge them in their own practice;

• encourage educators to stop making assumptions and start listening to young people, even when that means confronting internalised racism.

Join us

We believe this work has the power to transform RSE.

If you are an academic interested in joining this project, we invite you to submit a short proposal (up to 500 words) by the end of October 2025 to: info@schoolofsexed.org

For an informal chat, you can contact Emma via emma@schoolofsexed.org.

Talking About Harm: Why Nuance Matters in RSE

A recent Guardian article explored the rise of choking during sex. The views that were most prominently centred in this piece included those that portrayed this as a ‘horrifying’ practice, one where there is ‘no safe way to do it’.

The piece has led to strong reactions, prompting comments from the public with concerns about choking being ‘normalised’ for young people and worries about expectations in intimate relationships.

At School of Sexuality Education, we welcome serious journalism that explores sexuality and sex - including work that draws attention to potential harms. However, we often find that reporting focuses on one specific act rather than the surrounding attitudes and practices that drive the actual harm. This misses the point and undermines the work of educators striving to keep young people safe. Nuance matters when we talk about harm. 

Shame-free, harm prevention-focused Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) can be part of the solution.

Sensationalism doesn’t educate

Framing certain sexual acts as inherently dangerous or harmful, without context, can stoke fear and capture the audience’s attention. But fear is not the basis for good education. What’s often missing from these narratives is the why. Why do some people engage in certain sexual behaviours? Why are some harmed, while others are not? And crucially, how can young people be supported to explore sex safely and communicate clearly?

Safelives (2022) found that some students had a perception that their school feel they are not mature enough to engage in discussions of sexual harassment and violence. This, despite the issue being a very real concern for them.

As an RSE charity, we work with thousands of students across the UK every year, helping them to build the skills they need to communicate consent and boundaries. What we know from experience and evidence is this: it’s not just a particular act that causes harm, it’s the communication and attitudes around it.

A sense of entitlement to sex and another’s body, lack of regard for a partner’s pleasure or comfort, and power imbalances leading to coercion are the factors we should focus on addressing and educating people about. In our workshops with young people, we focus on the importance of communication around consent and pleasure. We make it clear that this is central to any kind of sex, sexual touching, or other sexual behaviour. Without that focus, we’re not helping young people stay safe. We’re just telling them what not to do, without explaining why or taking time to understand their perspective and cultures.

Porn isn’t the whole story

The article suggests that pornography is to blame for the rise in “risky sex”, with little evidence to support this. While porn can certainly shape people’s expectations and ideas around sex, it’s not always helpful to see it as the only or main cause of harm.

It’s too easy to position harm-doers as passive recipients of media, rather than individuals accountable for their behaviour. It also deflects attention away from what we can actively do to support safety, like helping young people know how to talk about sex in the first place, through teaching critical thinking and media literacy.

What our programmes cover

Our RSE sessions are rooted in empathy, honesty and prevention. We explore:

• What consent really looks like (including what it’s not)

• What pressure is and how to ensure we are not pressuring someone

• How to communicate desire and discomfort

• What healthy, respectful relationships can look and feel like

Talk about harm

Sexual harm is real. It’s serious and needs thoughtful, robust public dialogue that raises awareness. But it also needs accuracy, accountability, space for complexity and an evidence-led approach. 

This report from Rape Crisis highlights the extent that young people are subject to sexual violence in schools and it is unlikely to be driven by ‘extreme porn’. 

We need honest conversations that include the voices of young people, educators, violence prevention experts - including those who are survivors of sexual violence. Relationships and sexuality must be taught in a way that prioritises safety and pleasure, communication, and care.

Reducing harm needs to be led by evidence-based practice, addressing the root causes of sexual violence such as power imbalance, gendered norms and entitlement. 

For more information about our work, email info@schoolofsexed.org.