Lessons from France: Sexual Health Education Practices to Adopt in the U.S.

Lessons from France: Sexual Health Education Practices to Adopt in the U.S.

Division I, second place prize winner.

French

Comprehensive and culturally competent sexual health education should be accessible to all young people through public schooling. Yet, a basic internet search about sexual health education in the United States yields only an endless scroll of Planned Parenthood resources. With no federal laws mandating the content, quality or frequency of sex-ed, students in the US experience highly variable and widely insufficient learning. An equivalent internet search in French, however, reveals the official website of France's Minister of Education, which outlines their comprehensive national curriculum. The French system requires that students, beginning in middle school, learn about human anatomy, sexually transmitted infections, contraception, and sexual violence prevention. This presentation, delivered in French, will analyse the state of sexual health education in France and offer its components as one model for reform within the US.