“Sexuality Education is to be integrated in schools by the next school year”. Thus, stated the Minister of Education during the opening session of the workshop on the integration of CSE in school curricula and in school life; that was organized in partnership between the Ministry of Education, UNFPA Tunisia, the Arab Institute of Human Rights and the Tunisian Association for Reproductive Health. The Commitment of the Ministry of education has been achieved thanks to UNFPA and its partners’ advocacy efforts.

Held on 16&17 April 2019, the workshop gathered more than 80 representatives from relevant ministries, sociologists, psychologists, reproductive and sexual health experts, education and human rights experts, trade unionists, civil society representatives as well as young peer educators.

The workshop aimed to reflect on the integration of CSE in both school curricula and extra curricula, to identify the best ways of integration, the needs in terms of capacity building and to develop a communication and advocacy strategy around the project for better community adherence.

Next step consists on developing an age-appropriate referential on CSE that is culturally sensitive, gender and human rights-responsive and that meet internationally agreed standards.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education in schools was the main subject of the round table on sexual and reproductive health organized by the Department of School and University Medicine with the support of UNFPA Tunisia, in margin of the 13th School and University Health national conference organized on April 10 and 11th, 2019.

This national event is part of promoting the health of children, adolescents and young people in their educational environments and this year dealt with physical activity at school, suicide prevention among youth and sexual and reproductive health.

The need of and the legitimacy of sexuality education at school were debated in the presence of more than 200 school doctors from all regions of Tunisia, by the panel made up of representatives of UNFPA Tunisia, sexologists and national and international academics.

The opportunity for UNFPA Tunisia, to present the ongoing advocacy project for the integration of comprehensive sexuality education into school curricula and school life, and to highlight the important role of school doctors and each stakeholder in the school environment to ensure that children, adolescents and young people have access to quality information and sexuality education.