Survivor aware sex and relationship education for young people: ‘never assume that somebody … doesn’t already have experiences [of maltreatment]’

Le résumé fourni par la source

Sex and relationship education (SRE) is a key to promoting young people’s sexual health and relationship skills development, yet many programmes do not adequately meet the needs of young survivors of sexual abuse or intimate partner violence who face heightened risks of re-victimisation. Fourteen young people participated in interviews. They were recruited through sexual assault and survivor services, had each experienced child sexual abuse or intimate partner violence, and self-selected to join the study. Drawing on data from their interviews, this paper explores how SRE can be strengthened to become more survivor-aware and trauma-informed. We identify six principles for designing SRE that might better respond to the needs of survivors of child maltreatment: (1) safe and affirming learning environments; (2) relationship-based practice; (3) critical thinking and reflection; (4) empowerment and choice; (5) content grounded in real-world experiences; and (6) clear pathways to support. Drawing on our findings, we suggest that survivor-aware SRE requires an ongoing process of quality improvement based on feedback from young people, especially those with lived experience of childhood abuse and trauma, so that SRE supports the prevention of further victimisation while also enabling understanding and agency, and encouraging help-seeking and pathways to healing and recovery.

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