UNESCO regional conference on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) training 03 October 2022
The Botswana Council for the Disabled (BCD) Executive Director recently attended the UNESCO regional conference on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) training that was held at Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club, Nairobi- Kenya from the 3rd to 7th October 2022.
The East and Southern Africa regional conference was attended by representatives from Botswana, Malawi, Eswathini, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Participants were representatives from Ministries of Education, Civil Society Organizations and UNESCO country officers.
The conference engagements were based on the O3 principles (Our Rights, Our Lives, Our future), a programme geared towards providing quality comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) that empowers adolescents and young people. And further builds agency, while developing the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and competencies required for preventing HIV, reducing early and unintended pregnancies, preventing sexual abuse, and eliminating gender-based violence.
The current circle of training introduced Sexuality Education training for special needs teachers in addition to the already existing tracks of Sexuality Education training for curriculum developers and Sexuality Education training for pre- and in-service teachers.
The sexuality Education training for special needs teachers adopted the ‘Breaking the Silence’ model which is a Life skills based Comprehensive Sexuality Education for Young People with Disabilities developed by Researchers at the South African Medical Research Council in partnership with UNFPA. This model provides practical skills and knowledge needed by teachers to provide CSE for people with different disabilities and varying supports needs.
BCD will be working with partner organizations to strengthen their capacity to better address issues of comprehensive sexuality Education to provide basic skills needed by people with disability to make right decisions regarding their health, social and emotional needs.
