Comprehensive Sexuality Education

The Netherlands is a country in the north-west of Europe with several overseas territories in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with a fertility rate of 1.62 births per woman. One-quarter of the population is under the age of 25. The country has the lowest rate of adolescent pregnancies in Europe and the average age of a mother’s first birth is high at 17. The rate of HIV is low. Nine out of ten people use contraception during their first sexual experience. Contraception use has stayed consistent in the past few decades with around three-quarters of women using it regularly. The country was one of the earliest for women’s suffrage (in 1919) and it was also the first country to legalize same-sex marriage (in 2001). The Netherlands has consistently remained one of the top countries on the annual Euro health consumer index (EHCI), since 2005. 

Sexuality education in the Netherlands started in the 1960s as a pragmatic approach to promoting sexual health through both contraception and abortion. The current sexuality education curricula began to be developed in 1990 with two programmes. Sexuality education begins at the age of four with the Relationships and Sexuality course for primary schools, and Long Live Love for secondary schools. Sexuality education was made mandatory for all primary and lower secondary schools in 2012.

The 1814 Constitution of the Netherlands (amended in 2008) confers on the government the obligation to protect the health of the population. Public education is to be a constant concern of the government. The education system is governed by the 1969 Compulsory Education Law, the 1981 Primary Education Act, and the 1963 Secondary Education Act.  

In order to include sexuality and sexual diversity into the key objectives for the education system in the Netherlands, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’ s Official Gazette 2012, 470 (Staatsblad 470, 2012) amended the following legislation:  the Renewed Key Objectives Decree for WPO;  the Key Objectives for Secondary Education Decree; the Key Objectives for WEC Decree; the Key Objectives for WPO BES Decree; and the Key Objectives for Basic Education VO BES Decree.  

The 2012 Renewed Key Objectives Decree for WPO (Besluit vernieuwde kerndoelen WPO) and the Key Objectives for WPO BES Decree outline the key objectives for primary schools in the Netherlands. Under the section, ‘Orientation towards yourself and the world- Man and Society,’ key objective 38 (key objective 44 in the BES version) states that: ‘the students learn essentials about spiritual currents that play an important role in Dutch multicultural society, and they learn to deal with sexuality and diversity within society, including sexual diversity, with respect.’ 

The 2012 Key Objectives Lower Secondary Education Decree (Besluit kerndoelen onderbouw VO) and the Key Objectives for Basic Education VO BES Decree determine key objectives for lower secondary schools. Under the section ‘Man and Society,’ objective 43 in both decrees states: ‘The pupil learns about similarities, differences and changes in culture and worldview in the Netherlands, learns to relate their own and other people's way of life to this, learns to see the significance for a society of respect for each other's views and ways of living, and learns to deal with respect sexuality and with diversity within society, including sexual diversity’. 

The 2022 Key Objectives for WEC Decree (Besluit kerndoelen WEC), determines key objectives for expertise centres under the terms of the Expertise Centres Act (WEC). Objective 53 under the ‘Man and Society’ section states that: ‘the students learn essentials about spiritual currents that play an important role in Dutch multicultural society, and they learn to deal with sexuality and diversity within society, including sexual diversity, with respect.’ Under ‘Man, Nature, and Technology,’ the student ‘learns to understand the basics of the structure and function of the human body and of the physical, sexual and mental development of people and learns to take care of their own physical, sexual and psychological health.’ In the core goal 27 of ‘People and Society,’ students learn to ‘recognize that in society, including in the field of sexuality, there are differences and similarities between people and groups of people in the way they live’. 

The 2023-2025 Plan to Tackle Unwanted Pregnancy highlights the importance of education in relationships and sexuality in schools. The plan seeks to ensure that more schools in primary, special, secondary and secondary vocational education develop the theme of relationships and sexuality. It recommends that both parents and teachers receive training on relationships and sexuality education. It also provides funding for the Healthy Schools initiative, through which schools can participate and teach material related to relationships and sexuality education.

The main objective of sexuality education, according to the Sexuality Education Guidelines, is to ‘support children and young people in their sexual development and to teach them to make sexually responsible choices (safe, pleasant, and desired). Ultimately, this contributes to a respectful society and a safe and pleasant living environment.’ 

Popular programmes for teaching sexuality education in the Netherlands include the following: 

According to the Sexuality Education Guidelines, at younger ages, children should be able to name body parts, understand the basics of human reproduction (birth, pregnancy, death), learn the difference between friendship and love, and recognize abuse and know how to report it.  Between the ages of 6–9 students learn about changes in the body, the diversity of biological differences in bodies,  different types of relationships, issues around consent, respect for self and others, respect for differences, and more. In the 9–12 year age group, students may learn about puberty, contraceptives, sexual orientation, sexual rights and sex in media. 

In primary education, the Relationships & Sexuality teaching package is the most used and integrated educational package for young children. This programme consists of 49 lessons that teachers can select from. The topics covered include various aspects of sexuality education, such as: understanding the human body; self-image; nudity; gender differences; friendship; changes during puberty; romantic relationships; contraception; and resisting peer pressure. Specifically for students aged 10 to 12, lessons focus on puberty, friendships and love, contraception, and peer pressure. Each grade level is given  6 to 7 sexuality education lessons, and by the time they enter secondary school, students are expected to have completed 50 hours of sexuality education.. 

Long Live Love (lang leve de liefde) teaches about love, relationships and sexuality through three sets of teaching materials: Long Live Love for general secondary education (second year), Long Live Love for higher secondary education (4-5th year) and Long Live Love for vocational education. Each set of materials consists of six online lessons that cover topics such as puberty, falling in love, relationships, sexuality, gender, pregnancy, ‘What you want’, ‘Drawing the line’ and assertiveness, the internet, online predators, ‘The first time’, problems with sex, getting help, safe sex, STIs, contraception and condom use. Additional modules covering social media, sexual diversity, STI practicals, wishes and limits, and an online toolkit. 

According to the Sexuality Education Guidelines, at the secondary level, students should have an understanding of topics such as: gender identity; the influence of the media and how to be critical of it; have knowledge of the body and sexual health; enjoy sexuality in a healthy way, be able to communicate and negotiate effectively about safe and pleasant sex; have an understanding of human rights; be critical of social, cultural, religious norms; and more. 

The Healthy School Approach also addresses topics such as relationships and sexuality in programs such as “Boys R Us” which teaches boys to be aware of the importance of safe, pleasant and equal sexual and relational contacts; and “Girl’s Choice” which focuses on increasing sexual resilience among girl at the Primary Level. The program also has a more focused ‘Healthy Relationships & Sexuality incentive scheme’.

Teacher preparedness and capacity building: Professional competencies have been developed by Rutgers for educators to be able to demonstrate their ability to provide sexuality and relationship education adequately through its Sexuality Education Guidelines. Teachers need to be able to: create and monitor a safe and trusting learning environment; maintain an environment of openness, reflection and involvement in the theme; endorse the vision and principles of sexuality education; demonstrate their understanding of the vision and content of the theme; discuss sensitive issues and provide tools for students; identify problems and provide solutions, such as referrals to the relevant authorities or organisations. 

As part of the Healthy Relationships & Sexuality incentive scheme, schools who applyto the scheme undergo special basic training on Healthy Relationships & Sexuality for Healthy School coordinators. After completing the basic teaching, further training offers more in-depth content.  

Rutgers also directly provides training to educators, both through online and in-person courses. Some course are free, while others are paid. Rutgers also works directly with schools to provide tailor-made courses, training of trainers, group interventions, team meetings, workshops, or policy advice.  

Whether teachers are mandated to be trained on provision/delivery of sexuality education either as part of PRESET or INSET: The 2023-2025 Plan to Tackle Unwanted Pregnancy recommends that teachers attend trainings on how to teach relationships and sexuality education.  

Further information could not be found.

The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is primarily responsible for activities in the field of health and well-being. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for the whole education system, education policy, and setting the curriculum.  

Schools, municipalities, youth workers, health professionals and sports organizations are expected to cooperate with each other at the local level. For example, the Healthy Relationships & Sexuality incentive scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Healthy School, Rutgers, the School & Safety Foundation, Soa Aids Nederland, and Siriz. Healthy School is funded in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Well-being and Sports; Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment; and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature. Rutgers, which does most of the work surrounding relationships and sexuality education in the Netherlands, is a recognised Lifestyle Intervention programme by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.