Sexual health education and different learning experiences reported by youth across Canada

Abstract

There is an absence of common sexual health education curricula in Canada, and learning experiences diff er for youth across the country. Without a national standardized system to monitor the sexual health education delivery, research is needed to better understand these diverse learning experiences. Gender and sexually diverse youth in Canada may be overlooked and subjected to information that is exclusively focused on cisgender, heterosexual people, and experiences. Our study explored sexual health education learning experiences for youth in Canada and examined group differences based on self-reported gender and sexual identities. Participants (N = 1507) completed an online survey with demographic questions and questions about experiences with sexual health education. Participants were 16-25 years old (M = 18.06) and our sample was comprised of many sexually diverse participants (n = 857). Most youth in our study received sexual health education (94%), although many received only a few (1-3) lessons or workshops (41%). Most participants received education in a school (95%) and from a teacher (87%). Differences in education context and educator type between gender and sexually diverse youth were not signifi cant. The most commonly reported topics youth were exposed to were sexually transmitted infections (92%), physical anatomy and/or puberty (89%), and pregnancy and birth control (79%). Gender and sexually diverse youth reported lower percentages of topics learned for nearly all sexual topics listed in our study. Study findings are discussed by examining both strengths and areas for improvement for supporting youth learning through sexual health education in Canada.