Knowledge gaps are absences in knowledge about a topic due to a variety of reasons, such as lack of resources available, lack of effort, or lack of opportunity to gain knowledge. Such gaps can be harmful long-term and have real life consequences.

Knowledge gaps about reproductive health and sex education have emerged from misinformation and withheld information during abstinence-based sex education in schools. These knowledge gaps have real world consequences that we are seeing in the United States today, including a high rate of sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission, a high rate of teen pregnancy, a high rate of unplanned pregnancies, and an extremely high rate of sexual harassment and assault, especially on consequences.