Sex education

Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth control, sexual health, reproductive health, emotional relations, emotional responsibilities, age of consent, and reproductive rights.

Sex education that includes all of these issues is known as comprehensive sexuality education. In contrast, abstinence-only sex education, which focuses solely on promoting sexual abstinence, is often favored in more socially conservative regions, including some parts of the United States.

Sex education may be provided as part of school programs, public health campaigns, or by parents or caregivers.^[1][2][3] In some countries it is known as "relationships and sexual health education".^{[citation needed]}

Many governments see it as beneficial to provide public education on such matters prior to or at the beginning of puberty to improve public health, to limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections, and to avoid teenage pregnancy and unwanted pregnancies later on.