A/65/162 IV. Conclusions and recommendations On the basis of the foregoing remarks, the Special Rapporteur considers that: 75. International human rights standards clearly establish the human right to comprehensive sexual education, which is indivisible from the right to education and is key to the effective enjoyment of the right to life, health, information and non-discrimination, among others. 76. States must ensure that they respect, protect and implement the human right to comprehensive sexual education, by acting with due diligence and taking all measures necessary to ensure its effective enjoyment, without discrimination, from the early stages of life. The absence of planned, democratic and pluralist sexual education constitutes, in practice, a model of sexual education (by omission) which has particularly negative consequences for people’s lives and which uncritically reproduces patriarchal practices, ideas, values and attitudes that are a source of many forms of discrimination. 77. The right to sexual education is particularly important to women’s and girls’ empowerment and to ensuring that they enjoy their human rights. It is therefore one of the best tools for dealing with the consequences of the system of patriarchal domination by changing social and cultural patterns of behaviour that affect men and women and tend to perpetuate discrimination and violence against women. 78. Progress with regard to sexual education has been made in all regions; however, in general there is a worrying lack of comprehensive and sustainable public policies in this area; content is scattered throughout the educational curriculum; and the perspectives of rights, gender, sexual diversity, disability and non-discrimination are not incorporated into the provision of sexual education. 79. The Special Rapporteur has noted with particular concern various instances in which sexual education has been obstructed in the name of religious ideas and reiterates that systematic education acts as a guarantor of a democratic and pluralistic environment. 80. There are two modalities for the provision of sexual education: it may be provided as cross-cutting content or included as a separate subject in the curriculum. As noted above, the worldwide trend is provide it as a cross-cutting subject at the primary and, to a lesser extent, the secondary school level. 81. Sexual education is associated with the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy; while this is necessary, it cannot provide a basis for State policies, which must consider sexual education as a right in and of itself. 82. Since broad segments of the population are excluded from sexual education policies, States need to make a greater effort to reach the people who, in principle, are excluded from the educational system. 83. With respect to curricular content, some programmes are still based on an erroneous and partial understanding and do not meet the obligation to provide a scientific, democratic and pluralistic education that is free of prejudice and stereotypes. 10-46213 19