Asian Young People’s views on how Sexuality Education can Equip and Empower them to make Informed Sexual Choices

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate Asian young people’s views on how sexuality education can equip and empower them to make informed sexual choices. Sexuality education is an important source of sexual information for young people and is most effective when informed by the views of young people themselves. However, studies on Asian young people’s views of school-based sexuality education are rare. This study sought to fill that gap. In using a critical youth studies approach (Kehily, 2015), this study recognizes that Asian young people are competent at judging their needs and also values their perspectives and suggestions on issues that are important to them. A multi-methods research design was used to sequentially gather data from qualitative (4 focus groups) and quantitative (online survey) and qualitative (10 interviews) methods involving more than 500 Asian young people aged 16 to 25. Findings reveal that 99% (N=500) of participants reported that sexuality education was important since 84% of participants never or seldom discussed sexual issues with their parents. Instead 86% of participants reported that they use the internet as their main source of sexual information. Since today’s youth have grown up with the use of the computer and are wired to be technologically savvy in the way they acquire information, it was not surprising that 71% of participants rated the use of media as their most preferred pedagogy. Significant numbers of participants wanted the inclusion of topics such as intimate relationships (86%), understanding sexual consent (97%) and the challenges of pornography (74%). Other key findings include the ability of sexuality educators to relate with students to build teacher-learner relationships and the use of interactive methods to enhance student engagement and participation. Findings on social and cultural factors include the importance of family bonds and parental influences that are embedded in the lives of Asian youth affecting their sexuality formation, the call to involve Asian parents in sexuality education and the need for educators to increase their knowledge of Asian culture and sexual values. As a response to pornography, participants called for the teaching of critical media literacy to help young people build critical frameworks necessary to deconstruct and understand pornographic scenes involving violence and non-consensual acts. In view of the reality of globalization and digital evolution, findings from this study provide valuable insights for how sexuality education can be updated to equip and empower Asian young people to make informed sexual choices as they navigate power-laden sexual images and messages from family, culture, the internet and pornography. Implications of key findings and recommendations were discussed for future directions of sexuality education programmes.