Gender-based violence (GBV) is often framed in the United States as exclusively a foreign problem. But gender-based harms—including sexual violence; intimate partner violence (IPV); femicide; female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); and child, early, and forced marriage and unions (CEFMU)—occur across the United States. While these forms of violence differ, they share common roots in gender inequality, unequal power dynamics, harmful social norms, and violations of bodily autonomy.
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), a holistic curriculum-teaching and learning of various dimensions of sexuality, can help address root causes of GBV. By equipping young people with knowledge about consent, healthy relationships, gender norms, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), CSE gives young people tools to understand and exercise their bodily autonomy—and respect the autonomy of others.
