Abstract
Evidence indicates that school-based sexuality education empowers children and adolescents with the skills, values, and attitudes that will enable them to appreciate their health and well-being, nourish respectful social and sexual relationships, understand their rights, and to make informed choices. Owing to organized community resistance and prevalent misconceptions, promoting sexual and reproductive health has been challenging, especially in conservative settings like Pakistan. This study aimed at systematically exploring communities’ perceptions regarding implementing school-based comprehensive sexuality education by conducting a cross-sectional community readiness assessment in Islamabad, Pakistan. A total of 35 semi-structured interviews were conducted with community key informants. Following the guidelines of the community readiness handbook, the interviews were transcribed and scored by two independent raters. The results indicate that, overall, the Islamabad community is at stage two of community readiness, the denial/resistance stage. Individual dimension scores indicate that knowledge of efforts, resources for efforts, knowledge about the issue, and leadership dimensions are at the denial/resistance stage. Only community climate was rated at stage three of community readiness, the vague awareness stage. This indicates that, for promoting sexuality education in the Pakistani context, it is essential to tackle resistance by sensitizing the community and the stakeholders through awareness campaigns.
Highlights
A cross-sectional community readiness assessment (CRA) for implementing school-based comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in Islamabad was conducted through key respondent interviews
The results of the CRA are discussed in detail for each community readiness dimension hereafter: 3.2
The low readiness levels observed were attributed to misconceptions, lack of awareness, community resistance towards efforts, lack or absence of leadership support, and scarcity of resources dedicated to such efforts
Summary
In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development called for the education and promotion of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) [1]. According to a 2014 report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), there are a few examples of scaled-up intervention programs addressing sexuality education [1]. According to the UNESCO’s revised technical guidance on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), CSE is a curriculum-based approach to teaching and learning, focusing on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality [4]. Research and practice provided newer insights pointing to the relevance of CSE for the healthy development and overall wellbeing of children and adolescents [4]. The revised guidance expands on key concepts and includes aspects such as early pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and gender-based violence, with
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