Why this library?
	The primary goal of the European Society of Contraception is the promotion of sexual and reproductive health. Comprehensive sexuality education is considered to be an essential part of this. In many countries there is still little experience and knowledge in this field and limited access to resources. By developing a web library with a variety of background material and tools we hope to make a contribution towards better sexual and reproductive health worldwide, and aid those who are involved in sexuality education through their work.
	Aim of the library
	The aim of this web library is to make background information and tools available in the field of sexuality education for all professionals interested in this topic and working towards an improvement of sexual health promotion in their work.
	The term ‘sexuality education’ was chosen over ‘sex education’ and ‘sexual health education’ as the main descriptive title for the library as it was considered the most comprehensive and inclusive as per definition below.
	Definitions
		Sexuality education is a lifelong process of acquiring information and forming attitudes, beliefs and values. It encompasses sexual development, reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image and Gender roles. Sexuality education addresses the biological, socio-cultural, psychological and spiritual dimensions of sexuality from the cognitive domain (information), the affective domain (feelings, values and attitudes); and the behavioural domain (communication and decision-making skills).
		(Source: Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), 130 West 42nd Street, Suite 350, New York, NY 10036,www.siecus.org)
		Sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled.
		(Source: http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/gender/sexual_health.html)
	Practicalities
	Initially we will concentrate on building up the resources on sexual health. We plan to extend into reproductive health (for instance information about infertility) and technical information on contraception (for instance information about the different forms of contraception) at a later stage. The first step in the development of this resource involves a selection of links to websites with balanced information. Ultimately we hope to have information in as many languages as possible.
	We would appreciate receiving any kind of educational material, including brochures, website addresses, books, etc. As all tools will be reviewed before publication on the website, please be aware that at this moment we can only accept materials in English or with complete English translation (there are facilities to review materials in Dutch, German, French, Finnish, Slovenian, Latvian and…).
	The tools and documents published directly on this site are free to download and use, if not otherwise stated; materials accessed through links on the site can be used in line with the site owner’s permission.
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