In a world where online gender-based violence (GBV) is on the rise, media literacy must be a core part of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE): people of all ages must understand how the media influences their relationships, consent and gender norms. This critical issue was at the centre of discussions at The Gender Talk: Symposium on Advancing Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Gender-Based Violence Prevention in Europe, which took place in Brussels on 6 February 2025.
Organised by the Love Act project as both a celebration of progress and a call to action for the future, the event brought together 72 participants, including policymakers, educators and activists. Coming from across Europe, they heard about the need to prioritise equity and inclusion in CSE initiatives; discussed the role of CSE in preventing gender-based violence; and recognised the transformative potential of CSE in creating safer, more inclusive communities.
Setting the tone: A vision for inclusive education
Ashlee Alexandra Burnett-Beatrice, Global Lead for CSE at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), opened the symposium with a powerful keynote speech. A queer Caribbean educator and researcher, Burnett-Beatrice emphasised the urgent need for inclusive, rights-based, and gender-transformative approaches to sexuality education.
Drawing from her experience, she spoke about the importance of addressing the diverse needs of marginalised and vulnerable communities, particularly through youth-centred and intergenerational partnerships.
Country-specific insights: Lessons from the Love Act project
Love Act partners from Italy, France, Lithuania, Belgium, Spain, Greece, and Cyprus shared insights on CSE in their countries and their experiences implementing Love Act initiatives, showing the diverse and often complex realities of advancing CSE across Europe.
The presentations revealed a patchwork of contexts, with successes like innovative teaching methods and community engagement strategies, but also challenges such as cultural resistance and government hostility. These stressed the need for tailored, context-specific approaches to CSE.
Teacher training has an important role to play in unlocking the transformative impact of CSE, Idoia Legorburu and Nahia Idoiaga, from the University of the Basque Country, told the participants as they shared Love Act’s research findings on the role of education in preventing GBV.
The role of media: Shaping perceptions of sexuality and gender
A standout moment of the symposium was the expert intervention of Sergio Villanueva Baselga, Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona, with his presentation, Communicating Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Media, Gender, and Sexuality.
He began by reflecting on the phrase “Everything I don’t like is woke” which captures how critics, particularly conservative and reactionary movements, dismiss progressive ideas like CSE by labelling them as “woke” – a term that has become a floating signifier with no fixed meaning, he explained. This tactic discredits initiatives promoting inclusion and equality, often without engaging in meaningful debate. To counter such dismissive narratives while staying true to the goals of inclusion and justice, should we “combat the ‘woke’ signifier with another floating signifier?” he asked as a challenge to the audience.
He also shared findings from his research on the manosphere and anti-porn movements, shedding light on the digital spaces that perpetuate misogyny and GBV and stressing the need for media literacy in CSE. Leveraging media is critical to promoting positive narratives around sexual health and gender identity while combating online spaces that fuel violence and discrimination.
He left the audience with thought-provoking questions that help rethink the approach to sexual health and media representation, specifically the promotion of pleasure-centred, sex-positive sexual health communication, the fostering of non-stigmatising counter-narratives within mainstream media, and the measurement of the mid- and long-term impact of these counter-narratives.
Digital rights and advocacy: Combating online GBV
Alessandro Polidoro, a digital rights advocate and attorney, led a workshop on leveraging technology to advance CSE, with practical strategies to fight against online GBV (including image-based sexual abuse) and to push for digital rights protection. His gave participants actionable tips and examples to harness the power of media to shape positive social attitudes toward CSE, amplifying CSE storytelling to reach diverse audiences and driving policy change.
Polidoro gave hope that change in the digital world is possible, through the campaign he’s led in collaboration with the Stop the Data Porn organisation: Pornhub Is Being Accused of Illegal Data Collection (Wicked magazine) – Complaints filed in the European Union claim the porn site fails to follow basic data-collection policies under GDPR.
Crafting a European Manifesto for CSE
A key outcome of the symposium was the development of a European Manifesto to advance CSE. Inspired by the national manifestos created in each country as part of the Love Act project, all attendees participated in drafting this landmark document which advocates for the widespread adoption of CSE across Europe.
The manifesto represents a unified call to action to policymakers, educators, and advocates to prioritise CSE as a tool for preventing GBV and fostering inclusive societies.
Read the Manifesto and endorse it HERE!
Please note: By endorsing the manifesto, your name or the name of your organisation will be shared alongside other supporters of this cause.
Looking beyond Love Act: A call to action
The Love Act project may have concluded but the journey toward advancing CSE across Europe is just beginning. Now is the time to take action and be part of the change!
- Are you a local organisation, entity, or individual interested in promoting CSE in Palermo, Italy?
Join the Local SexEd Council, a coalition of over 30 organisations and individuals working to make CSE a reality at the grassroots level.
Read the Local Manifesto in Italy and contact us to join the Local SexEd Council. - Are you an EU-based organisation working transnationally on CSE-related topics?
Become part of the SexSense Network, a European hub fostering collaboration in research, training, advocacy, and project design. Together, we can drive innovative practices and secure EU funding to advance CSE.
Explore the SexSense Network
The fight for inclusive, rights-based sexuality education continues – Will you join us?
As the Love Act project comes to an end, its legacy lives on through the partnerships, research, and advocacy it has inspired. Together, we can build a future where comprehensive sexuality education is a reality for all.
Follow us for news about Love Act or contact Rūta Grigaliunaite: ruta.grigaliunaite@cesie.org.
About the project
Love Act – Living positive and intersectional sexuality education for gender-based violence prevention is funded by CERV-2022-DAPHNE programme.
Partners
- CESIE (Italy, coordinator)
- Elan Interculturel (France)
- Symplexis (Greece)
- DDG (Lithuania)
- The Square Dot Team (Belgium)
- CSI (Cyprus)
- Intered (Spain)
- UPV/EHU (Basque Countries)
For further information
Read the project sheet, visit thegendertalk.eu and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Contact Ruta Grigaliunaite: ruta.grigaliunaite@cesie.org.
