Sexual Education: European Health Promotion. Training Guide

Working on sexual education is one of the most pressing, but also one of the most difficult issues facing today’s educational systems. Reflecting these challenges in an international project is an excellent opportunity to find new reflections and approaches. From a holistic, properly contextualized perspective, the EdSeX project presents well-founded work suggestions that make us think about what is expected from sexual education, from childhood to higher education, reflecting the training of professionals who work in area of health and education. There are many issues associated with sexuality that continue to concern us and that need to be addressed from childhood. Sexual identity begins to be defined early, and it is also early that stereotypical ideas begin to be constructed. After many years in which biological determinism prevailed that considered the nature of men to be different from the nature of women, the concept of gender considers that the cultural issues associated with sexual identity are a social construct. Conceiving the definition of gender, in a broad, multidimensional sense, taking into account identity, sexual orientation, personal skills and interests, the deconstruction of stereotypical ideas is the basis for building greater equity between everyone from childhood. This process implies that sexual education begins by building a critical knowledge of oneself and of others, in the recognition of diversity, from a citizenship perspective. Knowledge of oneself and of the other is also the basis for understanding the social context and the variables that characterize it, namely the risks that an uninformed sexuality can entail. The prevention of sexual and emotional violence starts early and must be worked on constructively at the various levels of education, without forgetting higher education and the training of future health and education professionals who will have to do this work with increasingly diverse audiences. In this complex context, having a support script based on diverse experiences is excellent guidance that the EdSeX project provides us. This Guide promotes sexual education as a dynamic learning process, from a dialogical perspective, giving visibility to sexual, linguistic and cultural diversity, using digital media in a constructive and critical way. In addition to the work resources provided, the project has the added value of the methodological part built that leaves the way open for the development of the work already started in the different countries involved, in terms of training and research. May the EdSeX project be the basis for the construction of many more projects!

Keywords

migrants sexual education university education young people and women.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.15/4924

Citation

Dias, H., Frias, A., Mecugni, D. & Gómez Cantarino, M.S. (Coords.) (2024). Sexual Education: European Health Promotion. Training Guide. Escola Superior de Saúde de Santarém. Instituto Politécnico de Santarém.