The Sex Ed you wish you had: towards better sexual health, enjoyment and empowerment in UCD. The project has two overarching aims:
1. To give UCD students the knowledge and skills they need to make informed choices about their non-involvement or involvement in sexual activity that will support their happiness, health and wellbeing.
2. To build responsible and respectful attitudes towards gender and sexuality.
These aims will be realised by developing and delivering workshops that will educate and inform students in a range of issues pertinent to sex, sexuality and sexual identity.
Recent academic research and available sexual health data indicates that younger people have significant knowledge gaps regarding sexual health contributing to increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (EMIS, 2019; Courtenay, 2019). Sexual consent is also an important topic for younger people, with many lacking appropriate understandings of how to negotiate their consent (O’Higgins, 2010). These gaps in knowledge are not surprising in the Irish context given the paucity of sex education in Irish secondary schools. Though some sex education is provided, it is yet to be provided in an inclusive and accessible manner where younger people are empowered to make positive choices regarding their sexuality. An effect of this being, students commencing third level education where they may lack the necessary literacy to make informed and safe choices. Technological change is also defining younger people's sexual experiences and opening up new risks. However, this can be countered with appropriate training.
2. To build responsible and respectful attitudes towards gender and sexuality.
These aims will be realised by developing and delivering workshops that will educate and inform students in a range of issues pertinent to sex, sexuality and sexual identity.
Recent academic research and available sexual health data indicates that younger people have significant knowledge gaps regarding sexual health contributing to increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (EMIS, 2019; Courtenay, 2019). Sexual consent is also an important topic for younger people, with many lacking appropriate understandings of how to negotiate their consent (O’Higgins, 2010). These gaps in knowledge are not surprising in the Irish context given the paucity of sex education in Irish secondary schools. Though some sex education is provided, it is yet to be provided in an inclusive and accessible manner where younger people are empowered to make positive choices regarding their sexuality. An effect of this being, students commencing third level education where they may lack the necessary literacy to make informed and safe choices. Technological change is also defining younger people's sexual experiences and opening up new risks. However, this can be countered with appropriate training.
In an effort to tackle the issues listed above, we are proposing a series of workshops that will be held from January - April 2020:
1. Sexual Health
2. Porn Literacy
3. Digital Dating, Sex and Safety
These workshops are a pilot before up-scaling and hopefully becoming an important part of the UCD student experience. The end result will be a student body who have greater awareness about their decision making. The workshops will be an open, safe and non-judgmental space underpinned by an ethos of empowerment. The workshops are interactive and participatory with discussions, quizzes as well as practical activities. This creates varied sessions which hold the interest of the young participants and increase their ability to integrate their awareness.
1. Sexual Health
2. Porn Literacy
3. Digital Dating, Sex and Safety
These workshops are a pilot before up-scaling and hopefully becoming an important part of the UCD student experience. The end result will be a student body who have greater awareness about their decision making. The workshops will be an open, safe and non-judgmental space underpinned by an ethos of empowerment. The workshops are interactive and participatory with discussions, quizzes as well as practical activities. This creates varied sessions which hold the interest of the young participants and increase their ability to integrate their awareness.
To find out more about this project, you can contact the project lead: barbara.gornicka@ucd.ie
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