Abstract Introduction Despite their role being recognized by the European Community and by the World Health Organization, formal programs for sexual education in Italian schools are still lacking. Public opinion on sexual education is often misdirected, and people might fail to understand its importance and efficacy. Objective The present study investigates whether sex, age, gender and sexual orientation can affect the perception in regards to the importance of formal sexual education programs in Italian schools. Methods An online survey was open through September 11 and 18, 2025. Participants were recruited online via social media, and were asked to report on different aspects of their sexual health, including sexual education literacy. Associations between sexual education literacy and relevant factors were analysed using multivariate logistic regression (odds ratio 95% confidence interval). Results 1123 people participated in the survey, among which 802 women and 321 men. 767 women identified as females (95.6%) whereas 272 men identified as males (84.7%) (p0.001). Only the minority of participants reported having received formal sexual education courses during their studies, with no statistical difference between sexes (581/802 women, 245/321 men; p = 0.21). Among those who received formal sexual education, most believe that it was still insufficient (172/221 women; 51/76 men), with no difference according to sex (p = 0.09) Controlling for self-reported gender identity, sexual orientation and prior exposure to sexual education, male sex and age over 45 years were both associated with lower awareness of the usefulness of sexual education in Italian schools (OR: 0.19 95% CI: 0.08 – 0.42 and 0.25 0.10 – 0.68, respectively). Conclusions Formal sexual education is an unmet need for italian students across generations, and even in the few contexts where it is provided, its quality is considered poor by students. Male sex and age over 45 years both contribute to poor awareness of the importance of a structured, comprehensive sexual education program in schools. Disclosure Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: MySecretCase s.r.l., Italy
Sansone et al. (Mon,) studied this question.