To celebrate the Day of the Girl and to mark the publication of two resources on Comprehensive Sexuality Education, IPPF organised a Twitter Chat inviting young people to share their opinions and experience of sexuality education.
The response was overwhelming: more than 150 people from all over the world took part in an intense conversation in three languages on sex education, with a special focus on gender equality and girls' empowerment.
A1 #CSE empower girls with basic education about their bodies and rights to take control over their future #KnowItOwnIt @ippf
— Arshpreet Kaur (@arshpreetk2) October 11, 2016
A1 Comprehensive Sexuality Education allow girls to know their bodies and learn about relationships. It gives them power! #knowitownit pic.twitter.com/Ovo5NjquWe
— Génesis Luigi (@Gene_Luigi) October 11, 2016
A1 Gender equality is key - when girls win, we all win! #EUgirlsweek #KnowItOwnIt #DayoftheGirl @ale_matei @WorldVisionEU @FrazerGoodwin pic.twitter.com/v8j28tTVt4
— IPPF Europe (@ippfen) October 11, 2016
#maj229,#KnowItOwnIt #DayOfTheGirl L'ESI permet de préparer la fille à une meilleure vie en société.@ippf @hlungbo https://t.co/iGt4Rdmqx1
— Eustache Ulrich DEDO (@UlrichDedo) October 11, 2016
CSE can help to empower young girls because no girl can drop out of school becuse of pregnancy #KnowitOwnIt #FPAM_
— Prisca Gondwe (@Pri1Gondwe) October 11, 2016
Las niñas deben conocer sus derechos sexuales y derechos reproductivos en lugar de mitos y tabúes #KnowItOwnIt #DiaInternacionalDeLaNina pic.twitter.com/hm1UAMTQpY
— PROFAMILIA (@ProfamiliaCol) October 11, 2016
As IPPF often highlighted, school rarely provides young people with the information they need:
@ippf @ippfen @IPPF_WHR A2: They didn't teach these things in school. All things 'sex' is still taboo in the Caribbean region #KnowItOwnIt
— Khadijah Moore (@rainn_fall) October 11, 2016
@ippf @ippfen @IPPF_WHR Q2: we learn the sex life of the rooster and hen ( true story)
— LineKaabi (@Lili19091992) October 11, 2016
not all of it.most of the info at school was overshadowed with the aspect of abstinence, we were told we would learn when older #KnowitOwnit https://t.co/Z6fj16d5uW
— OlgahDaphyn_Namukuza (@daphyn_olgah94) October 11, 2016
Not very much..the Malawian culture somehow limits the level of knowledge young people get #knowitownit https://t.co/5ksxmcjqLO
— pepsymitawa (@pepsymitawa1) October 11, 2016
#KnowItOwnIt #DayoftheGirl la biologie nous informe brièvement mais reste tabou et n'explique pas tout en profondeur https://t.co/e0V5jXlBP1
— Annick Avonon (@AAvonon) October 11, 2016
learned abt biology.NOT empowered enouf 2 understand my body&mak critical decisions.I stand w/ IPPF. Need CSE in school! #KnowItOwnit https://t.co/26P0OQRHWf
— Nsensele Faida Julie (@Faida_juliette) October 11, 2016
A2: I was "cyberschooled"- my health book featured one paragraph about sex which included: "Being raped is not fun." That's it. #KnowItOwnIt
— Mary (@msmaryandes) October 11, 2016
.@ippf I agree! Comments like that - in the guise of "education" - harm both girls AND boys! #KnowItOwnIt
— Mary (@msmaryandes) October 11, 2016
Still, young people strongly feel that an open discussion about sex and pleasure is necessary, because it helps open the way to understand consent and equality in relationships:
Q3: Is talking about sexual pleasure important for girls? #DayoftheGirl #KnowItOwnIt @ippfen @IPPF_WHR pic.twitter.com/m3ediIlRxf
— IPPF Global (@ippf) October 11, 2016
@ippf @ippfen @IPPF_WHR A3: Talking pleasure is fundamental. Girls should express their sexual right and not be objectified for doing so
— YAM Dominica (@yam_dominica) October 11, 2016
#KnowItOwnIt Sexual pleasure for girls must be taught to empower against #objectification and differentiate between #consent and #assault
— TWConfidential (@TWConfidential) October 11, 2016
Good point. If girls don't understand that sex can be pleasurable for them, how can they fully understand the idea of consent? #KnowItOwnIt https://t.co/R7FVepYIuP
— Mary (@msmaryandes) October 11, 2016
@ippf @ippfen @IPPF_WHR We must ensure that girls understand that pleasure is a part of their sexual rights. #KnowItOwnIt
— Khadijah Moore (@rainn_fall) October 11, 2016
Q4. Why should young people get info about Sex? #KnowItOwnIt #DayOftheGirl @ippfen @IPPF_WHR @ippfar pic.twitter.com/999qeH5zSO
— IPPF Global (@ippf) October 11, 2016
A4: Young people need information about sex so they can fully plan their own lives and futures and know ALL their options. #KnowItOwnIt
— Johns Hopkins CCP (@JohnsHopkinsCCP) October 11, 2016
R4 pour permettre aux filles d'être au même niveau d'informations en matière de sexualité et en parler aisément #DayOfTheGirl #KnowItOwnIt
— MAJ/BENIN (@Majbenin) October 11, 2016
alot of pregnancies can be to attributed to a basic lack of info by girls #KnowitOwnit #CSE #DayoftheGirl https://t.co/QK9uOFVBKt
— OlgahDaphyn_Namukuza (@daphyn_olgah94) October 11, 2016
R4: La gente joven habla sobre el sexo: necesitamos asegurar que compartan información veraz y libre de discriminación #DiadelaNiña
— IPPF/WHR (@IPPF_WHR) October 11, 2016
@IPPF_WHR Young people need to know about safe sex and pleasure because it is crucial for our well-being #KnowitOwnit
— YSAFE Youth network (@YSAFE) October 11, 2016
Not only do young people want to have sex education, they want and need to shape the CSE programmes, in many different and creative ways: have you ever thought about music to share sexual health information? They did!
Q5: How can young people push for the #CSE they want? #DayoftheGirl #KnowItOwnIt @ippfen @IPPF_WHR pic.twitter.com/kURF8qsAf7
— IPPF Global (@ippf) October 11, 2016
Music can be a best way! for exampl try to describ body by singing! #KnowItOwnIt #DayoftheGirl @Faida_juliette @IPPFAR @ippf @JAPFBurkina https://t.co/y0PuBmKDBH
— GANEMTORE Fidele B (@GanemtoreB) October 11, 2016
"@ippf: Q5: How can young people push for the #CSE they want? #DayoftheGirl #KnowItOwnIt animation quotidienne dans les CSE.
— DAGBA Brigitte (@brigittedagba) October 11, 2016
A5 adult allies: lets advocate for girls, but more importantly lets make space for girls to advocate for themselves #DayofGirl #KnowitOwnit
— Devan (@devansiobhan) October 11, 2016
@hlungbo @Faida_juliette @ippf YP should use all available platforms to push for CSE like media campaigns ,advocacy activities #KnowItOwnIt
— Youth ActionMovement (@YAMuganda) October 11, 2016
A5: Young people in India are advocating for integrating age-appropriate #CSE with the school curriculum #KnowItOwnIt
— Arshpreet Kaur (@arshpreetk2) October 11, 2016
we need to find sexual education innovative ways to reach those out-of-school, otherwise marginalized #KnowitOwnit @ippf @ippfen @RHUganda
— Kintu kenny (@KintuKenny) October 11, 2016
We closed the conversation talking about the need for (and lack of) gender equality in education: everyone agrees that to be comprehensive, sexuality education must be equal, and we should also work on that direction.
Last question, Q6: Is sexuality education equal for girls and boys? #DayoftheGirl #KnowItOwnIt pic.twitter.com/tvGAwG3XNa
— IPPF Global (@ippf) October 11, 2016
A6: Sexual education is absolutely equal in importance for boys and girls. Unfortunately, it is not provided equally to girls. #KnowItOwnIt
— Johns Hopkins CCP (@JohnsHopkinsCCP) October 11, 2016
@TWConfidential unfortunately it's not only in your area, but Sexuality Education should be inclusive!!! #KnowItOwnIt #DayoftheGirl
— IPPF Global (@ippf) October 11, 2016
@ippf We can't talk abt boys without talking abt girls. Boy child education needs to be enhanced too inorder to reduce GBV
— Salim Bakari (@bakarisalimn) October 11, 2016
Si la #EducSexual no es igual para niños y niñas, entonces no es integral. La #EducSexual se centra en la igualdad #DiadelaNiña #KnowItOwnIt
— Casa FUSA (@Grupofusa) October 11, 2016
One hour was not sufficient to give space to everyone in a conversation that could have lasted days, but it was enough to reach more than 313,000 people with CSE messages and to give more proof that young people want, need, and fight for Comprehensive Sexuality Education. What are we waiting for?
— IPPF Global (@ippf) October 11, 2016
@ippf on vous remercie aussi.Tant qu'il reste à faire,rien est encore fait.du courage #KnowItOwnIt#DayoftheGirl pic.twitter.com/i9ObnAsRru
— Tchakirou Akedele (@tchakirou1993a) October 11, 2016
when
Blog Series
Adolescent Health
Subject
Comprehensive Sex Education