Behind the big declarations on sexual health, a more intimate reality appears: that of people who have not learned to talk about sexuality, who do not always think about the risk of STIs and who sometimes still consider consent to be implicit.
It is precisely these gray areas that the new government roadmap for sexual health, presented in September 2026 for the period 2026-2030, aims to tackle.
“Absolutely” talk about sexuality: only 22.9% were able to do so
For many, the first encounter with sexuality took place in silence, with information gleaned from friends, on the Internet or through first experiences. The subject could be embarrassing at home, or even simply forbidden from conversation.
The figures of SexReport 2026 from Adam & Eve
give an idea of the extent of the phenomenon. When asked about the possibility of talking openly about sexuality when they were younger, only 22.9% of people answered that they could do it “absolutely”.
Conversely, 21.8% believe it was “barely” possiblewhile 20.5% said it was “not at all” possible. In total, more than four out of ten people grew up with very limited, or even non-existent, opportunity to talk freely about sexuality.
This silence is not insignificant. When we don’t have the words to talk about desire, boundaries, contraception or sexually transmitted infections, it becomes more difficult to ask questions when they become concretely necessary.
This is one of the challenges that theEducation for emotional, relational and sexual life (EVARS)widespread in schools since January 2025.
But knowing how to talk about sexuality is not enough. You still need to know how to protect yourself.
Condoms, contraception: when faced with STIs, men and women do not start with the same reflexes
The SexReport reveals another important contrast.
- 44.8% of men questioned say they use contraception to protect themselves from STIs, compared to only 17.9% of women. The condom follows the same trend:
40.1% of men say they use it, compared to 15.9% of women. - These figures should be read with caution: contraception is not necessarily intended to prevent an STI. And hormonal or intrauterine methods, widely used by women, do not protect against these infections.
- So, 24% of women say they use the pillcompared to 14.8% of men, while the hormonal or copper IUD is cited by 17.7% of women and 8.7% of men.
- In total, 41.7% of women use a hormonal or intrauterine methodcompared to 23.5% of men.
This difference helps explain why the condom occupies a different place depending on the sexes. But above all it recalls an essential reality: preventing pregnancy and protecting yourself from an STI do not meet the same need.
Among men, moreover, protection against STIs is not at the top of the contraceptive motivations. Avoiding an unwanted pregnancy is cited by 65.3% of themcompared to 44.8% for protection against STIs.
However, a reflex seems better established among the youngest.
18-29 year olds, far from being the least cautious
We could imagine that younger generations, more exposed to sexual content on the Internet, are less attentive to prevention. Rather, the results tell a different story.
Among the 18-29 years old, the condom is the most cited method of contraception, with 39.4%ahead of the pill, at 29.1%.
This rate is higher than the national average for condom use, which reaches 27.7% for all ages combined.
The observation is interesting: even though young people are those to whom public authorities particularly wish to address, they do not necessarily constitute the generation least aware of prevention.
The real issue is perhaps elsewhere: transform prevention into a lasting reflexespecially when partners change, when the relationship becomes more stable or when the issue of STIs gradually disappears from conversations.
Because there is another subject, even more intimate, on which words sometimes seem to be lacking: consent.
“It goes without saying”: when consent still too often remains implicit
Say yes. Say no. Being able to change your mind. Check that the other still agrees. These principles seem simple. However, in private life, they are not always verbalized.
- According to SexReport 2026, only 21% of people in a relationship say they actively discuss consent before each sexual encounter;.
- Conversely, 33.9% consider that consent “goes without saying” and therefore do not feel the need to talk about it;
- Even more worrying, 12.1% think that the simple participation of a partner “automatically means yes”.
These results obviously do not make it possible, on their own, to determine the actual behavior of the people interviewed. But they show that part of the population continues to associate consent with something implicit, rather than an exchange likely to evolve at each stage of a sexual relationship.
This is precisely why sexuality education cannot be limited to explaining anatomy, contraception or STIs. She must also give words. Words to express a desire. To set a limit. To ask the other what they want. And above all to understand that consent is never acquired once and for all.
A roadmap that arrives on still fragile ground
Presented in September 2026, the government roadmap for sexual health 2026-2030 intends to act on several of these fronts: education of young people, prevention of HIV and STIs, consent and the fight against sexual violence.
LSexual health is not just a matter of medical practices or prevention campaigns. It is built much earlier, in the ability to talk about your body, your desires, your fears and your limits.
And perhaps this is one of the most important changes to make: making sexuality no longer a subject that we learn in silence, but a subject that we can talk about without shame, before the questions become problems.