Too much porn? Sexuality education is a public health issue
In almost the entire European Union, sex education is compulsory. Not in Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. It is a problem that does not “only” concern the private sphere: it is public health. The WHO defines sexuality as a central dimension of the human being, which affects biological, psychological, social, economic and cultural aspects. Translated: we are not just talking about reproduction, but about identity, relationships, consent, desire and respect.
The numbers we cannot ignore
The evidence accumulated over the years is clear: complete sexual education programs delay the age of first intercourse, increase the use of condoms and contraceptives, reduce sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. Yet the 2025 data show a dangerous reversal among the youngest: gonorrhea +100% compared to 2019; syphilis +50%; chlamydia +25%. If infections are growing, it means that prevention is not reaching where it should.
Political retreat
In this context, the House culture commission approved an amendment that prohibits sexual and emotional education programs in primary and lower secondary schools, allowing them only in high school and with informed consent of the families. A short-sighted choice, considering that the first contact with pornographic content occurs on average around the age of 13: when the school is silent, others “teach”.
The Italian knot (historical)
From 1991 to today, every organic proposal has foundered between political vetoes and cultural resistance, also in light of the 1984 Concordat. The result is a void left to the goodwill of individual teachers – too little for an educational right that should be guaranteed, not delegated.
If porn educates
Without sexual and media literacy, kids are looking for answers online. Pornography becomes a script: performative sex, almost never safe, occasional interactions, subordinate female pleasure. Studies show correlations between early and regular porn consumption, earlier initiation of sexual activity, and higher number of partners. Curiosity is not the problem, it is the absence of the tools to distinguish representation and reality. And even where education is formally compulsory (as in New Zealand), addressing only the biological part without talking about consent, violence and pornography produces patchy interventions.
What is needed (immediately)
- Complete and early sexual education, vertical from primary school to high school: body, relationships, consent, pleasure, orientations and identity.
- Porn literacy: decoding the industry’s languages, stereotypes and business models; distinguish fiction and reality.
- Involvement of families, not as a veto but as informed allies.
- Teacher training and standardized, assessable materials.
- Monitoring of outcomes (infections, unwanted pregnancies, reports of violence) and data transparency.
When civil society “hacks” the silence
In the absence of institutional action, initiatives emerge such as #HackingThePorn by Loveby (September 2025), which inserted educational messages from sexologist Livio Ricciardi into porn videos: a provocative but effective way to reach those who are already there. It is not a structural solution, but it signals a real demand that schools today do not intercept.
Talking about sex in schools is not a progressive habit, it is a public health issue. And if the State is not capable of doing so, then campaigns that “hack” the silence are welcome.
