Nine out of ten young people demand sex education at school

In the days in which the Chamber of Deputies is voting on the Bill presented by Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara on the Provisions on informed consent in schools, the issue of affective and sexual education in schools has returned to the centre of public debate. Young people in Italy are showing that they have very clear ideas: 9 out of 10 are requesting the introduction of sex education at school, wishing to deal with topics such as information on STIs and protection (54%), consent in affective relationships (48%) in a constructive way and with the support of qualified professionals. In fact, 72.2% of them believe that doctors, psychologists and experts in the field are the most suitable figures to guide a serious and informed educational pathway.

This is confirmed by the data of the now historical Durex "Youth and Sexuality" Observatory, conducted in collaboration with Skuola.net between May and June 2025 on a sample of 15,000 young people aged between 11 and 24, which, now in its 8th edition, has for the first time also investigated the thoughts of parents. The answers may come as a surprise: almost 8 out of 10 parents (78.6%), in fact, declared themselves in favour of the introduction of structured affective and sexual education programmes in schools, and even 45.3% believed that such programmes should start as early as middle school.
This interest most probably stems from the concerns that lodge in parents' minds, especially in relation to emotional and relational aspects: 28.7% fear, in fact, that their children may experience toxic relationships and 19.3% are worried about the risk of sexual violence. This is followed by fears related to sexually transmitted infections (17.1%) and the non-use of contraceptive methods (16.3%).

In a context, the Italian one, where 23.6% of young people say they had their first sexual intercourse between the ages of 11 and 14, these aspects should certainly not be ignored, especially considering that the percentage of those who do not talk about sexuality in the family has increased by 12% in just one year (from 37% in 2024 to 49% in 2025). Among the reasons: 46.8% do not feel comfortable broaching these topics with their parents while, for 14.5%, it is a real taboo.

In the absence of dialogue at school or at home, and with sexual intercourse becoming increasingly precocious, girls and boys feel that there is only one option left for them to get information: the Internet, with all the risks involved and facing potential access to pornographic content. In fact, 53.2 per cent of young people, attracted by anonymity and speed, state that they search online for answers on sexuality and contraception, informing themselves through partial, inappropriate, often harmful and frequently incorrect content, which in some cases also risks leading to situations that are potentially dangerous for their safety. A situation that leads, especially the very young, to face their first experiences in a way that they are not very aware of, with little information on consent and respect for themselves and others.

Risk behaviour can also be linked to sexting: almost one out of two young people (47.2%) claim to send or receive sexually explicit content, with the phenomenon already affecting 30% of 11- to 13-year-olds. These practices, if not handled with awareness, can lead to problematic situations linked to the non-consensual sharing of private material: 46% of respondents in fact state that they have received unsolicited sexual images or videos, a percentage that reaches 50% among girls and 42% in the youngest age group (11-13). Consent, in this scenario, remains a crucial aspect even outside the network: 1 young person out of 5 believes that one can avoid sexual intercourse with a partner 'only occasionally', Moreover, 40% of the participants consider jealousy or excessive possessiveness on the part of a partner to be only 'possible' signs of a relationship that needs to be limited, confirming a lack of emotional awareness.