Sexuality Education at School

The Federal Centre for Health Education’s (BZgA) representative study Youth Sexuality 9th Iteration is a representative repeat survey. A large-scale survey of young people, their parents and young adults was launched for the ninth time in the summer of 2019. It follows on from predecessor studies conducted between 1980 and 2014. The goal of the study is to acquire reliable data about the attitudes and behaviours of young people in the Federal Republic of Germany with regards to sexuality and contraception.

Sexuality education is mandatory for all schools in Germany. The inclusion of sexuality education in the curriculum makes schools a central place for learning about sexuality and contraception for young people (Hilgers, Krenzer & Mundhenke, 2004). The Youth Sexuality Study examined what role school plays as a source of information for topics around sexuality and what significance it has in providing sexuality education for young people in 2019. This fact sheet presents the core results about sexuality education in school for adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17.

Results: An Overview 

1. School lessons continues to be the most important source of sexuality education, although a slight downward trend can be observed.
2. The vast majority of young people receive sexuality education lessons, but this too is on the slight decline in West Germany.
3. Young people with a basic (desired) level of education and those from Muslim homes are more likely to say they have not had access to sexuality education in school.
4. The most common topics covered by sexuality education lessons are anatomy, sexual development, menstruation, contraception and sexually transmitted infections.
5. Schools inform their students about the free availability of the contraceptive pill and the ‘morning-after pill’, something that is particularly important for boys, young girls, and girls with a migrant background.
6. Whether teachers are important to a young person with regards to their sexuality education depends on the young person’s (desired) level of education.
7. Teachers are important sources of sexuality education for young people with a migrant background.