How effective is comprehensive sexuality education in preventing HIV?

This brief discusses the effectiveness of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in preventing HIV, and lists key findings and recommendations. It concludes that CSE is effective in decreasing HIV risk factors in adolescents and young people, and improving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in general, including creating demand for SRH services. When programmes are designed with a gender, empowerment and rights focus, along with appropriately trained staff to deliver CSE through participatory learning approaches, beneficial outcomes have been demonstrated on knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy and SRH outcomes.