Adolescent girls’ voices on their need for sexuality education: A cry for mutual sexual emancipation

Koch, Ronél; Yates, Hannelie; Kitching, Ansie Elizabeth

doi:10.4102/hts.v75i1.5495

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Yong girls are left in the dark, misinformed, and open to abuse as a result of this silence. Similar to earlier research, participants reported feeling blamed and shamed by adults for wanting to talk about their sexuality, and most of the time, adults (parents or instructors) instill fear in them by emphasizing the negative effects of sex [51]. The participants are also aware of any signs of hostility and resentment when they try to talk about sexuality.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Sexuality and Mental Health of Pakistani-Descent Adolescent Girls living in Canada: Perceptions and Recommendations

Punjani,

Papathanassoglou,

Hegadoren

et al. 2023

Adolescents

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In Canada, the demands of female immigrant adolescents in terms of sexual health are largely unmet and have grown significantly in recent years. According to studies, racialized immigrant adolescents are less likely than non-immigrant adolescents to be knowledgeable about sexual and reproductive health and to use resources for sex education and related services. This difference seems to be related to socio-cultural and religious practices in Pakistani immigrant adolescents. This paper intends to explain the viewpoints of female adolescents of first- or second-generation Pakistani descent who reside in Canada with regard to their development of sexuality and psychological well-being. Moreover, this paper also describes how female adolescents perceive the necessity to support their sexuality as they go through the adolescent stage. Individual interviews and timelines were created using qualitative interpretative descriptive design. We included 21 female adolescents of first- or second-generation Pakistani ethnicity using a purposive sample. Data analysis was performed using a thematic analysis. The findings indicate that immigrant adolescent girls received conflicting messages about sexuality from their parents which impacted their psychological well-being. Additionally, survey participants noted that prejudice, exclusion from sex education classes, and a lack of sexual health information contributed to social isolation, health care avoidance, and poor mental health outcomes like melancholy and anxiety among adolescent girls. The absence of sexuality-related communication with parents and the scarcity of medical professionals who can relate to and address the needs and realities of immigrants may have an impact on the participants’ experiences. Female immigrant girls also spoke up on the need for open, honest, and stigma-free conversations as well as for the need to end the taboo around the subject of sexuality. This study used principles from both intersectionality and postmodern feminist theories to increase our understanding of the interplay between the experiences of developing sexuality and overall well-being in female immigrant adolescents of Pakistani descent. It is crucial to involve, listen to, and incorporate female adolescents’ voices when planning and implementing interventions to support healthy sexuality among immigrant adolescents.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Sexuality and Mental Health of Pakistani-Descent Adolescent Girls living in Canada: Perceptions and Recommendations

Punjani,

Papathanassoglou,

Hegadoren

et al. 2023

Adolescents

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“…As a consequence of this silence, adolescents are left ignorant, uninformed, and vulnerable to exploitation. Similar to previous studies, participants identified the notion of adults blaming and shaming them for wanting to talk about sexuality and most of the time adults (parents or schoolteachers) instil fear in them by focusing strongly on the detrimental outcomes of sex (Koch et al, 2019). Furthermore, the participants are mindful of the hints of anger and resentment when they try to communicate about sexuality.…”

Section: Sexuality Conversations: Open Honest and Free From Stigmasupporting

confidence: 58%

Sexuality and Well-Being of Pakistani-Descent Female Adolescents Living in Canada: Perceptions and Recommendations

Punjani¹,

Hirani²,

Mumtaz³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The sexual health needs of female immigrant adolescents in Canada have been largely unmet and have increased in magnitude over the last few years. Evidence suggests that immigrant adolescents lack sexual and reproductive health knowledge and use fewer sexual health-related services and sex education resources than do non-immigrant youth. In Pakistani immigrant adolescents, this difference appears to be associated with socio-cultural and religious practices. This paper aims to describe how first-or-second generation Pakistani-descent female adolescents, living in Canada, describe their perspectives on developing sexuality and well-being. In addition, this paper explicates female adolescents’ perceptions of their needs to support their sexuality while going through the adolescence stage. Using a qualitative interpretive descriptive design, individual interviews were conducted in combination with drawing timelines. A purposive sample of 21 female adolescents who were first- or second-generation Pakistani-descent was obtained. A thematic analysis approach was used for data analysis. Findings suggest that immigrant female adolescents encounter mental health concerns as a result of confusing messages they received from their parents related to sexuality. Also, discrimination, exclusion from sex education classes, and lack of knowledge on sexual health can result in social exclusion, avoidance of health care, and poor mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. These participants related experiences are potentially contributed by the lack of communication with parents about sexuality and lack of health care providers who can understand and speak to their needs and realities as immigrant individuals. Female adolescents expressed their need to break the silence around the topic of sexuality, to have a non-judgemental and blame-free attitude from adults, and for open, honest, and stigma-free conversations. This study provides preliminary qualitative evidence of the interplay between experiences of developing sexuality and overall well-being, particularly psychological wellbeing in female adolescent immigrants. It is crucial to involve, listen to, and incorporate adolescent girls’ voices when planning and implementing interventions to support healthy sexuality among immigrant adolescents.

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“…Some of the approaches followed by teachers are not responsive to the needs of adolescents and could even be viewed as damaging, as ignorance will hamper adolescents in their ability to protect themselves from harmful practices or sexual exploitation. 6 , 23 , 38 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22 This again links to praxis, indicating that adolescents are a historically marginalised group because of being typically excluded as subjects in research that deals with the issues they face. 23 However, they were given a voice and the opportunity to take action in the creation of an agenda to change and improve their lives. 21 Kemmis and Wilkinson 24 explain that this worldview is emancipatory: it helps unshackle people (adolescents) from the constraints of irrational and unjust structures that limit self-development and self-determination, as is often the case because of the way CSE is typically presented.…”

Section: Research Methods and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching comprehensive sexuality education using a praxis co-created with adolescents

Koch¹,

Beyers²

2023

Afr. j. prim. health care fam. med.

Self Cite

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Background: Despite its reported positive deliverables, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in South African schools is unable to document an influence in reducing alarming statistics regarding adolescent sexual health. Prior research points to a gap that exists between what studies suggest and what is implemented in practice.Aim: Drawing on Freire’s theory of praxis, the aim of this study was to involve the voice of adolescents in reforming CSE – specifically, how the programme could be developed with the objective to co-construct a praxis in order to support sexuality educators in a delivery of CSE that is more responsive to the needs of adolescents.Setting: Ten participants were purposively selected from all five school quintiles in the Western Cape province of South Africa to take part in this study.Methods: A qualitative descriptive design with aspects of a phenomenological approach was utilised. Rich data were collected by means of semistructured interviews and were analysed thematically with ATLAS.ti.Results: The results illustrate the suggestions made by the participants towards the improvement of the CSE programme. They reported on approaches and strategies used to teach CSE that imply that it is often not delivered comprehensively – confirming the disjuncture between what the curriculum envisages and what is executed in practice.Conclusion: The contribution might lead to change in disconcerting statistics and consequently an improvement in the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents.Contribution: The participants from this study assisted in co-constructing a praxis for CSE teachers to inform their practice.

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Adolescent girls’ voices on their need for sexuality education: A cry for mutual sexual emancipation

Cited by 6 publications

References 14 publications

Sexuality and Mental Health of Pakistani-Descent Adolescent Girls living in Canada: Perceptions and Recommendations

Sexuality and Mental Health of Pakistani-Descent Adolescent Girls living in Canada: Perceptions and Recommendations

Sexuality and Well-Being of Pakistani-Descent Female Adolescents Living in Canada: Perceptions and Recommendations

Teaching comprehensive sexuality education using a praxis co-created with adolescents

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