Institute of Development Studies
Bio
Author Biography
Pauline Oosterhoff is a Research Fellow at IDS. She has over 20 years’ international experience in research, advisory services and media production on sexuality and SRHR working with international NGOs, the United Nations, bilateral donors, private foundations, universities and the private sector. She is interested in the ways research and public engagement can support progressive, inclusive and effective policy and practice. Pauline relishes using mixed and participatory methods linking online and offline settings and works in multidisciplinary teams. In addition to her research and advisory work, she produces documentary films, installations and immersive interactive events.
Institute of Development Studies
Bio
Author Biography
Catherine Müller is a Research Fellow at IDS. As a trained economist and applied researcher, she has gained in-depth knowledge of both quantitative and qualitative research design and data analysis methodologies in many different country contexts in Europe, Africa, the MENA region, South Asia and Latin America. Her main research interests are gender-based violence in general, and violence against women and girls in conflict and humanitarian crisis settings in particular; women’s (economic) empowerment; unpaid care work; and sexual and reproductive health issues, particularly in relation to sex education.
Institute of Development Studies
Bio
Author Biography
Kelly Shephard is Head of Open Knowledge and Digital Services at IDS. Kelly is a storyteller. Her prime interest lies in the thoughtful use of technology to share and shape information. After spending 16 years working for BBC World Service, Kelly transferred her journalistic skills to the world of international development. Her move to IDS in 2011 was led by a desire to be as much involved in the process as the product. Her journalistic skills, which were shaped in a multimedia environment, enable her to see clarity in complex material and present it in compelling and relevant ways.
Volume 48
Number 1
Published: February 13, 2017
Exploring sex and sexual relationships is an important part of adolescence, and therefore sex education should have a central role in adolescent emotional development as well as dealing with crucial public-health issues. Good sex education reduces maternal and child mortality by helping to prevent unwanted, early and risky pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, yet in many parts of the world unmarried teenagers are excluded from receiving information and sexual health services because – according to unrealistic and conservative religious and socio-cultural norms – they are not supposed to be sexually active.
Much of the research on sexuality in the digital era is moralistic and slanted, so for those working on sexual/reproductive health and youth/digital development issues, learning more about the subject is a major challenge. There has never been a collection of scholarly work on this topic for a mixed audience of researchers, policymakers and practitioners until this issue of the IDS Bulletin. A collaboration between Love Matters and IDS, articles discuss experiences with digital sex education in many countries and in a range of settings. The issues confronted are diverse, yet the common themes encountered are often as striking as the differences.
Young people need help in critically examining the sexual messages they receive, as well as access to new types of digital sex education environments that are realistic, emotionally attuned, non-judgmental and open to the messages they themselves create. Contributions in this IDS Bulletin suggest an urgency for academics and practitioners to understand and develop digital literacy skills in order to help build such environments.
