Approaches that Address Vulnerability

Approaches that Address Vulnerability
In the context of sex, relationships and HIV education, addressing vulnerability means going beyond the development
of a curriculum to address the sexual and social realities that exist beyond the classroom. It means, for
example, giving consideration to contextual issues such as the school institution itself, including power relations
that exist among pupils and between teachers and pupils. Sexual vulnerability is also linked to other forms of risk
and vulnerability, such as racism and homophobia, drug and alcohol use and gender inequality in the household as
refl ected in decision-making, use of household expenditure and violence.
In recognition of the social nature of sexual relations, there have been calls for a paradigm shift in relation to sex,
relationships and HIV education.30 Proponents of this approach argue that the content of sex, relationships and HIV
education curricula has tended to neglect consideration of issues of gender, equity and rights, together with the
underlying power inequities that these refl ect. To this end, the Population Council’s Rethinking Sexuality Education
initiative has been working towards a ‘social studies’ approach to sex, relationships and HIV education. This kind of
approach promotes the development of critical thinking skills and learning and refl ection about the ways in which
gender, rights and other aspects of social context (e.g. race, ethnicity and class) affect sexual experience. In so
doing, it may also promote the active, informed participation of young people in civil society.