Mark's Story

The personal story of Mark Kent is not an easy one to read or to ignore. This chapter shares the difficult life story of Mark's journey from an individual who was sexually and emotionally abused as a child to one where he is currently in a healthy and happy marriage with four children. Mark attributes this success to his Asperger's Syndrome and the support of his family, but he also realizes he is an exceptional case study. He advocates for much better awareness, sexual education, and overall acceptance on the part of society to ensure others can overcome the same challenges he has faced.

Percepção dos Adolescentes Quanto à Educação Sexual e Sexualidade na Escola

Resumo Este artigo trata da forma como professores e alunos do Ensino Médio de uma escola pública da cidade Manaus entendem a discussão sobre a educação sexual e sexualidade em um espaço no qual se busca o conhecimento e aprendizagem. Considerou-se necessário explorar esse tema em face das polêmicas e os tabus envolvidos neste assunto. O profissional da escola responsável por discutir esse assunto com os alunos, na maioria das vezes, é o professor, sendo que poucos possuem capacitação para tratar do assunto. A pesquisa teve como objetivo compreender a percepção dos adolescentes e professores a respeito as atividades voltadas para a sexualidade e educação sexual conduzidas em uma escola pública da cidade Manaus. Esta pesquisa teve uma abordagem qualitativa-quantitativo, caráter descritivo e de campo, sendo o instrumento utilizado, um questionário. A partir dos resultados foi possível identificar que os professores buscam dialogar com a temática com suas respectivas disciplinas, entretanto, o tema ainda gera interpretações equívocas por parte dos alunos, mostrando assim que os professores não estão capacitados adequadamente para a condução dos debates e discussões voltadas para o assunto. Os adolescentes entendem que o debate sobre a sexualidade e educação sexual são importantes para o esclarecimento e redução de preconceitos. Entende-se que esta pesquisa oferece uma reflexão a respeito do assunto para que sejam reformuladas as propostas de educação sexual e discussão da sexualidade no ambiente escolar. Palavras-chave: Preconceitos. Alunos. Professores. AbstractThis article deals with how teachers and high school students from a public school in the city of Manaus understand the discussion about sexual education and sexuality in a space where knowledge and learning are sought. It was considered necessary to explore this theme due to the in the face of controversies and the taboos involved in this subject. The school professional responsible for discussing this subject with students, most of the time, is the teacher, and few have training to deal with the subject. The research aimed to understand the adolescents’ and teachers’ perception regarding activities related to sexuality and sexual education conducted in a public school in the city of Manaus. This research had a qualitative-quantitative, descriptive and field approach, and the instrument used was a questionnaire. From the results it was possible to identify that teachers seek to dialogue with the theme with their respective subjects, however the theme still generates misinterpretations on the part of students, thus showing that teachers are not adequately trained to conduct debates and discussions aimed at the subject. Adolescents understand that the debate about sexuality and sex education is important for clarifying and reducing prejudices. It is understood that this research offers a reflection on the subject so that the proposals for sexual education and the discussion of sexuality in the school environment are reformulated. Keywords: Prejudices. Students. Teachers.

PROBLEMS OF SEXUAL SOCIALIZATION OF STUDENT YOUTH IN THE LIGHT OF “STANDARDS OF SEXUAL EDUCATION IN EUROPE”

In the late 20-th – early 21-st centuries in society under the influence of globalization and informatization there were dramatic changes in the field of sexual values of domestic youth: pluralism and tolerance in relation to sexual life; autonomization of adolescent and youthful sexuality from external forms of control; commercialization of sex (prostitution, pornography, eroticization of advertising, etc.); rehabilitation of unproductive forms of sexuality; legalization of same-sex love; etc. There was a need to radically improve the theoretical and practical solution to the problems of sexual socialization. The first step towards the implementation of this goal was the adoption by the European Union in 2010 of the “Standards of Sexual Education in Europe”, which marked the beginning of the creation of a regulatory framework for sexual socialization of pupils and was to promote a holistic system of sexual education and provide children and young people with objective, scientifically reliable information about all aspects of sexuality. The aim of the article: Based on the analysis of “Standards of Sexual Education in Europe” to prove the need and relevance of the introduction in educational institutions of Ukraine sexual socialization of the school children, to indicate the main steps in the implementation of the best foreign experience in light of the recommendations of this document. The article points out the Standards’ emphasis on the mistakes of traditional sexual socialization, which tried to misgive the youth associative relationship between sex and danger, focusing on the potential risks of sexuality. The article on a large array of research material shows the low level of sexual education and sexual culture of Ukrainian schoolchildren, noted factors that hinder the introduction of sexual education courses recommended by WHO for all European countries. The article on the experience of educational systems of the European Union emphasizes the positive aspects of the introduction of systematic courses of sexual education into the domestic education system. A detailed study of the “Standards of Sexual Education in Europe” and the study of the staging of sexual socialization in foreign countries gave the authors the opportunity to justify the need to use a number of elements of foreign experience in Ukraine. The article defines criteria for assessing the successful implementation of sexual socialization: sexual issues are considered and discussed openly as a positive, integrative part of health; sexual education programs must be adapted to the specific needs and realities of the respective country; there is state support for measures on sexual socialization; sexual socialization takes into account the gender aspect; mandatory linkage of sexual socialization to premarital training of schoolchildren and responsible parenthood; partnership of schools and families, government and non-governmental organizations, various consulting centers in solving the problems of sexual socialization of schoolchildren, etc.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Self Efficacy of Parents In Providing Education To Prevent Child Sexual Violence In Pontianak City, Indonesia

Providing sexuality education to children is one of the primary preventions for preventing sexual violence in children. Parents' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy can affect the provision of this education. The purpose of this study was to describe the knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy of parents in providing sexual education to prevent sexual violence in children. This research is quantitative with a cross-sectional approach. The number of samples in this study was 396 parents who have children aged 12-17 years by purposive sampling. Univariate descriptive analysis was used. This study indicates that 56.3% of parents who have poor knowledge about preventing sexual violence are not supportive attitudes (52.5%), and 50.0% have low self-efficacy in preventing sexual violence in children. In addition, 71.5% of parents understand sexual violence against children in the form of rape and obscenity, and 33.1% still consider it taboo in providing education to prevent sexual violence in children. It is necessary to increase parents' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in providing education on preventing sexual violence in children as the primary prevention of sexual violence in children.

Sexuality in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Qualitative Study

End-stage kidney disease has a negative impact on patients’ quality of life. People who receive a kidney transplant experience an improvement in many areas of their daily life. Sexuality is a general component of health, which can be affected by end-stage kidney disease and kidney transplant. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the experiences and perspectives of kidney transplant recipients regarding their sexuality. A qualitative study based on Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy was carried out. Two focus groups and nine interviews were conducted with 18 kidney transplant recipients. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with the help of qualitative analysis software. Two main themes emerged from the data: (1) “The impact of a kidney transplant on sexuality”, with the subthemes “sexuality is relegated to the background”, “physical decline acts as a sexual inhibitor”, and “changes in sexual activity following a kidney transplant”; (2) “Sexual education in kidney transplant recipients” with the subthemes “sexuality: a hidden concern amongst kidney transplant recipients” and “talking about sexuality with healthcare professionals”. Sexuality is a frequent concern among kidney transplant recipients. The physiological and emotional changes experienced after kidney transplant exert a great influence on their sexuality. Healthcare professionals rarely discuss sexuality concerns with kidney transplant recipients. Professional sexual education and assistance are necessary to improve sexual health satisfaction of kidney transplant recipients.

Sexual education for adolescents: parent role in rural area

Health problems faced by adolescents when they are very varied and related to risky sexual behavior. Sexual education is currently still considered taboo by the public because it is less appropriate to talk about and is private. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of parents in sexual education in adolescents. This study uses a qualitative research method with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews with 12 participants who were determined by purposive sampling. The saturation data with 5 parent and 7 adolescents. Data validity test used source triangulation, member cheking, peer debrifing, and thick description. Data analysis using open code 4.03 software. This research is ethical with number No. 020 / EC-KEPK FKIK UMY / I / 2021. The results showed that the role of parents in providing sex education to adolescents was caused by several factors, namely the closeness of children to their parents, parental education, parental divorce, parents' perceptions of sex education, perceptions of the importance of sex education, and parenting styles of parents to child, which affect the optimal role of parents in sex education for their children. To conclude, it is important for parents to provide sexual education to prevent risky sexual behavior, such as providing sexual education for adolescents, giving advice to children, supervising children's relationships, and providing rules for children.

Sex education in school and teacher training:

From this brief preamble, it is opportune to investigate how sexual education is taught in schools as well as the production of researchers engaged in studying this matter. Teachers are the main agents involved in the mediation of knowledge. After all, they mediate contents and discuss information on sex and sexuality that come from the family, society or media, with which children and adolescents interact. This study aims to investigate, from a selection of productions available on Capes Journal Portal, which are the theorists/theories most cited by researchers who discuss the teaching of sex and sexuality to children and adolescents. To identify the theoretical sources used by these authors to support their studies, the following research question was formulated: according to the authors that discuss sexuality education for adolescents and children, what are the characteristics of the teacher education program and which theorists are more cited in their studies? The study consists of a qualitative-convergent mixed systematic review. We used the descriptors ‘sexuality’ and ‘teaching’ in exact terms. The eligibility criteria consisted of articles (i) published from 2019 to 2020; (ii) with open access; (iii) reviewed by; and (iv) with a focus of interest on basic education (adolescents and children). The content analysis of the main results obtained allowed to organize the findings into four categories: school-based sexual education and teacher training: contributions to an inevitable discussion; teaching and sexuality; teacher training for sexuality education; theories cited. From the results, it can be seen that the mediation between the two theories – teaching and sexuality – takes place almost exclusively in Biology and Sciences classes. And in these subjects, the teachers’ focus is on reproductive issues, something that does not allow an effective exploration of the sexuality topic by the main players of the teaching action.