Monday, February 23, 2009
Body Image
Most sexuality experts will agree that to be sexually healthy, it is important for both body and mind to be "in synch". When they are not, one or both areas can suffer. Many factors can influence how and whether a woman experiences mind/body synchronization. A common one has to do with a woman’s comfort with her body – or body image. Body image has to do with how one feels about anything physical, from their weight, skin or hair color, height, and the changes that come with aging, to the appearance of their genitals, to how their body may appear as a result of a physical disability or illness, and much more. One thing is for sure – the better a woman feels about her body, the more satisfying her sexual expressions and relationships will be. This channel will address issues of enhancing diminished body image, and address ways of celebrating all types of bodies and physical features.
Helping parents talk to kids about sexuality
No matter how "cool" parents are with their kids, they dread the idea of discussing 'sex'. If you too are facing the same scenario, then here's something that offers help: parenting programmes in the workplace can significantly improve your ability to talk with kids about sexual health, suggests a new study.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the research may provide a unique way of promoting healthy adolescent sexual behaviour. Research shows that parents can significantly influence adolescents' sexual health and risk behaviours through their parenting practices and talking about sex.
For example, previous studies have found that adolescents whose parents talk to them about sex are more likely to delay intercourse, use contraception and have fewer partners. But many parents and adolescents feel uncomfortable talking about sex because they are embarrassed or unsure of what to say or how to begin.
Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School and the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion, report a randomised trial to assess if a parenting programme in the workplace, to help parents become more comfortable and skilled at communicating with adolescents about sexual health, has an effect on parents' ability to communicate with their children.
Five hundred and sixty nine parents of adolescents aged 11-16 years were randomised to attend the parenting programme, Talking Parents, Health Teens or to receive no intervention.
The programme consisted of 8 weekly one hour sessions during the lunch hour in 13 workplaces in California. Parents and adolescents were sent follow-up surveys at 1 week, 3 months, and 9 months. The authors found that the work-based approach had immediate significant and ongoing effects on parent-adolescent communication.
Parents attending the programme were more likely to discuss new sexual topics, had more conversations about topics they had previously discussed and were more open to communication about sex.
"We'd teach them some skills one week, and they'd come back the next week bubbling over with excitement that they'd talked with their teen about relationships, love, or sex...their teen had actually engaged in a real conversation with them, or role-played a topic like how to say no to unwanted sexual advances", the British Medical Journal quoted Mark Schuster, the study's lead researcher, as saying.
The authors also note that before the programme few parents had taught their children how to use condoms, but one week after completion of the programme, 18 percent of adolescents in the intervention group and 3 percent in the control group said their parents had reviewed how to use a condom, this increased to 25 percent vs 5 percent at nine months.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the research may provide a unique way of promoting healthy adolescent sexual behaviour. Research shows that parents can significantly influence adolescents' sexual health and risk behaviours through their parenting practices and talking about sex.
For example, previous studies have found that adolescents whose parents talk to them about sex are more likely to delay intercourse, use contraception and have fewer partners. But many parents and adolescents feel uncomfortable talking about sex because they are embarrassed or unsure of what to say or how to begin.
Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School and the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion, report a randomised trial to assess if a parenting programme in the workplace, to help parents become more comfortable and skilled at communicating with adolescents about sexual health, has an effect on parents' ability to communicate with their children.
Five hundred and sixty nine parents of adolescents aged 11-16 years were randomised to attend the parenting programme, Talking Parents, Health Teens or to receive no intervention.
The programme consisted of 8 weekly one hour sessions during the lunch hour in 13 workplaces in California. Parents and adolescents were sent follow-up surveys at 1 week, 3 months, and 9 months. The authors found that the work-based approach had immediate significant and ongoing effects on parent-adolescent communication.
Parents attending the programme were more likely to discuss new sexual topics, had more conversations about topics they had previously discussed and were more open to communication about sex.
"We'd teach them some skills one week, and they'd come back the next week bubbling over with excitement that they'd talked with their teen about relationships, love, or sex...their teen had actually engaged in a real conversation with them, or role-played a topic like how to say no to unwanted sexual advances", the British Medical Journal quoted Mark Schuster, the study's lead researcher, as saying.
The authors also note that before the programme few parents had taught their children how to use condoms, but one week after completion of the programme, 18 percent of adolescents in the intervention group and 3 percent in the control group said their parents had reviewed how to use a condom, this increased to 25 percent vs 5 percent at nine months.
Women's Sexual Health
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines sexual health as "the state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality; it is not merely the abscence of disease, dysfunction and infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive, respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled." This channel focuses on understanding sexual health issues of special interest to women. It also examines issues relating to communication within sexual relationships, and much more.
Women's Sexual Health Topics:
Desire
Pleasure
Orgasm
Medications and Supplements
Gynecological Concerns
Pain During Intercourse
Menopause
Menstruation and Breast Health
Infertility
Pregnancy and Child Birth
Masturbation
Body Image
Contraception
Women's Sexual Health Topics:
Desire
Pleasure
Orgasm
Medications and Supplements
Gynecological Concerns
Pain During Intercourse
Menopause
Menstruation and Breast Health
Infertility
Pregnancy and Child Birth
Masturbation
Body Image
Contraception
Women empowerment
Sexual health education is not only to prevent STIs including HIV, Sexual health education is another tools to empower women. Description: This action research work, using different participatory tools and techniques, helped us to gain a new experience about empowering women. Sexual health education was being offered among border crossing women who usually cross Bangladesh border to India without legal passport and visa for earning bread. And the BDR and BSF in both side of the border sexually abuse these women. Dhaka Ahsania Mission, a non-government organization is providing sexual health education including negotiation skill - among these border-crossing women, which is a peer-led intervention. The border crossing women are using these learning to their sexual life in family and in outside family. They are confident now to burgain about using condom or having non-penetrative sex. Lessons learned: 1. Sexual health education needs to be accompanied by other factors like income generation activities, sanitation etc. 2. The peer-led intervention addressing sensitive social issues needs passion and time to reach the goal and 3. Only peer education is not enough to provide professional support to the community. Recommendation: This experience recommends that a sandwich approach need to be designed for addressing sexual health issues to empower women. IGP and primary health education could be amalgamated together with sexual health education and treatment facilities for the community while gender should be a crosscutting issue to address.
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