Let’s talk about sex

In South-East Asia, talking about sex tends to be a social taboo, particularly among women and girls, and there is low awareness of the dangers of unprotected sex in many communities. Combine these factors with the dominance of men, both in family and public life, and it is clear why many women struggle to assert themselves.

There is a pressing need to educate and empower women. HIV tends to be a concentrated epidemic in Asia, with populations of injecting drug users and sex workers among the most affected. However, as participation in commercial sex occurs at quite high levels in many South-East Asian countries, it is not just sex workers, but also their clients and their partners, who are at risk. At the same time, as new cases of HIV are chiefly in the under-25 age group, young people need to know about the importance of protective behaviours.

Creating Connections was originally designed by Dr Helen Cahill from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education’s Youth Research Centre to teach Vietnamese women and girls about all aspects of sex. The project establishes clubs for women and girls, where a year-long curriculum encourages open dialogue on issues relating to sex, HIV prevention and gender rights. The intention is twofold: for mothers to develop the confidence to have these discussions at home, particularly with their children; and for adolescent girls to be prepared to negotiate these matters well in their own future relationships.

The clubs, which are run by the Vietnam Women’s Union, provide a necessary safe place for conversations about sex and sexuality; something many women and girls struggle to find elsewhere.

As one participant puts it: “We don’t get enough information at school or home. . . . Some of us have heard of condoms but we have never seen one and don’t know how to use. We don’t talk to our mothers about sex except for basic facts about menstruation”.

The clubs also fill a gap left by the well-intentioned but often ineffective school-based sex education programs. A recent project report explains: “Whilst there is a significant emphasis on providing young people with information and education within national HIV programs, school curriculums and government plans . . . the ‘sex’ is often left out of sex education.”

Dr Cahill developed training manuals for club facilitators, which include information on creating participatory, supportive environments, developing counselling skills, developing games and role plays and suggestions for how to present practical topics such as contraceptive methods.

She ran ‘master training sessions’ for core staff, who have then been able to train more staff as the project grows. As she explains, the focus of her role was on capacity-building.

“We used a train-the-trainer model to build capacity, so Women’s Union staff can run the program independently,” Dr Cahill says.

“It’s really important they are able to run, monitor and evaluate the project as it grows, to make sure it remains highly effective and of a high quality.”

Creating Connections has been successfully expanded to more provinces in Vietnam and a Boy’s Club program has been commissioned. Project evaluations show significant improvement in knowledge and communication between mothers and girls about subjects including gender equity, menstruation, contraception, contraceptive methods, abortion, STIs and HIV.

Indeed, the program has been so successful in Vietnam, UNICEF has identified it as good practice and is now rolling out a four-country trial in other South-East Asian countries. This success has been recognised back in Melbourne, with Helen Cahill recently receiving the Vice-Chancellor’s University of Melbourne Knowledge Transfer Award for Creating Connection’s regional expansion.

In partnership with UNICEF, the project team is now working with partners in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal to find culturally appropriate ways to introduce Creating Connections. Following the Vietnam model, the projects will be run by the Women’s Unions or Ministries of Women’s Affairs in these countries, simultaneously building capacity within these organisations.

The regional project will start with a training workshop in Laos this month. UNICEF Global will send a team from New York to film a short documentary about the project, which will be used to help other interested countries learn more.

Dr Cahill is excited about the program’s future. “We know Creating Connections can really help people, so it’s great to know more countries are adopting it. Working with UNICEF will really help us maximise its impact.”

For more information:
www.education.unimelb.edu.au/yrc