As recent reports have highlighted, puberty, periods and pregnancy barely warrant a mention nowadays. Instead, anal sex, fisting, rough sex and polyamory are the order of the day. Classes involve children ‘stepping away from heteronormative and monogamy-based assumptions’ in order to appreciate that ‘there are a variety of sexual preferences and practices’. On top of this, many children are also being taught that they have a gender identity that may be different from their biological sex.

How has this happened? A major new report, published last week by Safe Schools Alliance UK (SSAUK) goes some way to answering that question. It explores how global initiatives promoted by UNESCO and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have driven the shift from plain old sex education to an all-encompassing ‘comprehensive sexuality education’ – often referred to in the UK as ‘relationships and sex education’. Thanks to the efforts of SSAUK, we can now see exactly how advocates of comprehensive sexuality education have shaped practice in British schools for over a decade.

[Don’t think for a moment that this hasn’t influenced American sex education, either. — Ed]