He took off my pants! The implementation of creative drama in a sex education module

ABSTRACT

Child sexual abuse is a cross-cultural issue that can be found in all social institutions. There is increasing awareness of how this issue affects children in Malaysia. Issues pertaining to child sexual abuse can be addressed if children are empowered with preventive skills to avoid becoming victims of sexual crimes. In this paper, I examine how creative drama can be used to develop a child safety-related module with the goal of preventing sexual abuse. The use of the module has been found to help preschool children in mastering skills that may assist in the prevention of sexual abuse.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual abuse
• creative drama
• preschool children
• sex education

Acknowledgements

The study was conducted under the scholarship of Academic Staff Bumiputera Training Scheme (SLAB) of the Ministry of Education Malaysia linked with the institution of Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

S. Haneem

S. Haneem is a lecturer of theatre education at the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts of Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia. She received her Master’s Degree from the University of Technology Mara, Malaysia. She completed her Ph.D. in Theatre Education in 2021 at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Marlenny Deneerwan

Marlenny Deneerwan graduated from ASWARA and University of Malaya, Malaysia. She completed her Ph.D. from Monash University, Australia. Her research includes Malaysian traditional theatre and drama education for young children. Currently, Marlenny teaches at the Drama Department, University of Malaya and is an active director and playwright.

Mariani Md Nor

Mariani Md Nor received her Bachelor Degree in Science Education from University of Malaya, Malaysia and obtained her Ph.D. in Psychology from Bristol University, United Kingdom. She is a professor at Faculty of Education, University of Malaya. Her research interests include educational psychology, psychology of human development, and child psychology.

N. H. Nor Shuradi

N. H. Nor Shuradi is a lecturer from Sultan Idris Education University, who completed his Master of Performing Arts at the University of Malaya, Malaysia and received his Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama from Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia. His area of research includes theatre in education and gender in performing arts.