IN FOCUS
Evidence, Echoes, Effects
Editor: Xixi Wang
On March 21st, CUE convened a cross-disciplinary conversation exploring sexuality, education, developmental psychology and mental health, with a central proposition that anchored sexuality education not as an isolated or peripheral subject matter, but a thread that runs through all life stages.
A group photo on the day of the event, March 21st, 2026
Hosted at the elegant The Sukhothai Shanghai, the session opened with an introduction to CUE by our founder, Xixi Wang, followed by a self-introduction of a diverse group of participants, including educators, parents, and community members.
The knowledge sharing session was led by Sanderijn van de Doef, CUE’s advisor and a globally recognized expert in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). Drawing on decades of experience shaping the CSE landscape in the Netherlands, and across Europe, Asia and Africa, Sanderijn offered deep insights into the importance of age-appropriate, values-based, and inclusive approaches to CSE.
Through evidence, lived examples, and cross-national insights, the afternoon session clarified what is working and missing in many educational systems today. More importantly, she illuminated what becomes possible when CSE is approached as a lifelong, developmental process, highlighting how CSE supports an individual’s life-long well-being and development, including but also well beyond sexuality.
Participants raised thoughtful questions spanning (inter)cultural contexts, parental engagement, and the realities of implementing CSE in schools and families. We also exchanged experiences in supporting healthier life transitions for sexuality, self and relationship development from early childhood to adulthood.
This gathering reflected CUE’s vision to create “A Life Transition Space for Everyone”, curating environments where complex topics are approached with nuance, wisdom and evidence-based insight. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us and contributed to such a rich and meaningful afternoon. Below, we would like to share some key takeaways from this session. We appreciate CUE’s advisor, Roseline Yang, for taking notes at the event. Based on her notes, our editor compiled them with the assistance of an AI tool.
Xixi opening the event, March 21st, 2026
1. Sexuality as a Lifelong Developmental Thread
A central theme of Sanderijn’s sharing was the reframing of sexuality as a continuous, developmental process rather than a one-time topic. This framing challenges two of the most persistent misconceptions in education systems globally.
1) Sexuality education, if at all present, is treated in many educational systems as a single curriculum unit or one “talk,” even though human beings’ sexual development unfolds over time. Sexuality is a fundamental part of human life, present from infancy through adulthood, and deeply connected to emotional regulation, relationships, identity formation, and decision-making. At different life stages, an individual’s relation to their sexuality is different. The implication is clear: if sexuality is lifelong, then the education of it must be too.
2) Sexuality education is often positioned as something to begin “later,” typically in adolescence, just before risk is assumed to emerge. However, Sanderijn challenged this notion, emphasizing that by the time such (perceived) risks arise, the foundations of self-awareness, boundary-setting, and relational understanding have already been formed. Sexuality education is not about teaching a subject; it is a process of capacity-building over time. The maturity level between the individual and their bodies, their emotions, their actions, and those of others develops gradually. Prevention-focused interventions, therefore, often fall short because they arrive too late, at a moment when the underlying capacity has not been built properly. Without earlier development of self-awareness, communication skills, and relational understanding, individuals cannot act with informed, embodied judgment at the moment. In this sense, the limitation is not in the intent or design of preventive measures, but in the absence of the developmental foundation needed to make those interventions effective. Sexuality education should begin early.
In short, sexuality education is not solely meant for the intimate moments with another person, or the prevention of them. Rather, sexuality education is about supporting individuals in developing an ongoing healthy relationship with their body, their emotions, and their choices, across the entirety of their lives.
Sanderijn’s photo on the day of the event, March 21st, 2026
2. The Cost of Fictional, Vague, Inconsistent and False Content
A fundamental question for education systems and caregivers alike is this: who do we want children to learn from?
Sanderijn, along with some participants, noted that delaying education creates a vacuum. Today’s generation isn’t uninformed; they have easy access to fragments of information from peers, media, and the internet. When schools and families avoid sexuality topics, other sources rush to fill the void, and we cannot be sure they have our children’s best interests at heart. Without consistent, values-based, age-appropriate, and inclusive sexuality education, we are effectively handing this generation over to content that is fictional, incomplete, vague, or totally false.
This is precisely why formal sexuality education in schools is so critical. Formal education, typically understood as that which is delivered in schools, provides structure, consistency, and access to standardized knowledge. When delivered properly, it gives students a shared vocabulary, consistent frameworks for understanding, and reliable reference points, regarding both self-understanding and understanding in their relationships with others. Evidence shows that students become less vulnerable to misunderstanding, coercion, and harm as a result.
In short, like it or not, today’s generation will learn about sexuality. The question is whether we will guide that learning with intention, or leave it to sources that may not have their well-being at heart.
Participants’ photos on the day of the event, March 21st, 2026
3. Sexuality Education At Home
The event highlighted a crucial distinction between school-based and home-based sexuality education, while underscoring that both are equally important and necessary. The insight here is not about choosing one system over the other, but about recognizing their interdependence. Effective sexuality education is not a program; it is an ecosystem.
Home-based education unfolds organically within everyday interactions, conversations, and the relational dynamics between parent and child. In the classroom, knowledge is delivered in a designated timeslot; in the family, learning happens alongside daily life. And indeed, everyday learning environments at home shape how knowledge is interpreted and applied; through these lived moments, children come to understand how boundaries feel, how communication unfolds, and how trust is built or broken. In contrast, where home-based education is limited, due to discomfort, cultural taboos, or lack of parental knowledge, school-based education alone struggles to compensate. The result is often a disconnect between what is taught and what is lived.
This is precisely why the everyday moments matter so much. A key insight was the importance of responding to children’s questions in everyday life, a dimension often overlooked. By ages five or six, children are already forming awareness and asking concrete questions about their bodies or reproduction, long before formal education typically engages with these topics, and often when parents least expect it. These moments are critical opportunities to meet curiosity with constructive, emotionally safe responses. When ignored or shut down, however, these same moments can lead to confusion, secrecy, or reliance on less reliable sources. Responding well means building comfort and trust, allowing children to understand their bodies, recognize feelings, and ask questions without shame.
Sanderijn referred to the Netherlands as an example where these two systems are more effectively integrated. Sexuality education is generally introduced early, normalized, and supported across both institutional and familial contexts. This creates continuity, rather than fragmentation. Parents play a crucial role, not merely as protectors, but as guides and partners in a child’s development. This translates to:
Parents are sometimes afraid that being too open about sexuality may lead young people to have sexual experiences too early…—though what constitutes “too open” or “too early” is subjective and varies across cultures and households. Sanderijn shared that many young people in the Netherlands tend to experience a more gradual progression of sexual contact, as recent studies show. This pattern is also reflected in cross-national comparisons. In regions where sex is more strongly treated as taboo, young people are more likely to move quickly from initial experiences, such as a first kiss, to sexual intercourse.
This accelerated progression may be linked to psychological pressure — including fear of being discovered by parents or schools — as well as a lack of open mental spaces to explore relationships and intimacy. As a result, young people may feel a sense of urgency, rather than having the time and support to develop at their own pace.
What emerges from these insights is a clear understanding that when home-based sexuality education is well-paced, present, responsive, and adjusted to the age or developmental level of the child. parents are providing something invaluable: the time, space, and trust for the young generation to develop at their own pace.
Participants’ photos on the day of the event, March 21st, 2026
4. Sex, Gendered Socialization and the Agency Gap
Another powerful thread running through the discussion was the role of sex and gender in shaping how individuals relate to sexuality, body, desire, and communication.
From a young age, physical differences create an early divergence in bodily awareness. Boys, because their anatomy is external and visible, become more familiar with their genitals through the routine of urination. Girls, by contrast, do not have the same necessity for physical contact during this routine and cannot see their genitals in the same way. This early difference in bodily familiarity can influence how children come to know and relate to their own bodies.
Alongside the gap in bodily familiarity, socialization compounds the divide. Societies far more frequently encourage boys to express what they want, to initiate, and to pursue. Girls, on the other hand, are often conditioned to be receptive, accommodating, or uncertain, socialized to follow rather than define desire. As a result, while boys may develop a stronger sense of entitlement to desire, many girls have less practice articulating their own preferences. Over time, this imbalance manifests in real interactions, particularly in moments that require clarity and communication.
An agency gap becomes evident. Without intentional intervention, this pattern persists. Addressing it requires more than simply encouraging confidence. It involves intentionally creating conditions—at both macro and micro levels—where all individuals are supported in developing self-awareness, expressing boundaries, and navigating relational dynamics.
Participants’ photos on the day of the event, March 21st, 2026
5. Consent as a Lived Skill, Not a Concept
Another key insight is that sexuality education systems globally have yet to fully address a critical gap: understanding what consent means is very different from being able to navigate it in real time.
Consent education is often simplified into a binary, usually framed around a clear “yes.” But real-life experiences are far more complex. What does hesitation signal? How should silence be understood? How do power dynamics shape how people perceive and respond? These are questions that definitions alone cannot answer. Consent is inherently relational; it unfolds between people and is shaped by context, communication, and awareness.
This shifts how we think about consent education. Rather than focusing only on what consent is, it must also address how consent happens. This means building communication skills, emotional awareness, and the ability to pause, reflect, and respond in dynamic, often ambiguous situations.
To do this well, we need to move beyond fragmented, definition-based approaches toward a more integrated model, one that treats consent as an embodied, communicative, and relational skill.
Participants’ photos on the day of the event, March 21st, 2026
Closing Insight: From Education to Life Transition Support
Perhaps the most resonant takeaway for the audience was a shift in perspective: sexuality is not a standalone topic, but something deeply embedded within life’s transitions. It moves with us across the many stages from infancy to old age, and across the ongoing processes of human development—in identity, physicality, emotion, relationship, and beyond.
Questions such as “What do I want?”, “What feels right?” and “How do I communicate this?” are not confined to intimate situations; they are foundational to how individuals orient themselves in the world and navigate life from day to day.
If sexuality is this integral, then education cannot be reduced to information alone. What is required are spaces for reflection, exploration, and guided decision-making in which individuals can build a lived understanding of themselves over time.
For CUE, this insight reinforces a natural alignment. CUE’s commitment is to create spaces where individuals are not only informed, but accompanied, supported as they navigate the defining aspects of being human, offering the right cues at the right time.
Participants’ photos on the day of the event, March 21st, 2026
