![Sample our Education journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5932/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Education.jpg"})
Abstract
Sex education is a politically contentious issue in many countries, and there are numerous, competing ideologies relating to the most appropriate methods to teach young people about sexual and reproductive health. This paper examines policy and practice in Uganda in light of two contrasting ideologies, namely morally conservative and comprehensive rights-based approaches to sex education. After a brief description of these approaches, findings from a preliminary qualitative study among teachers working in a non-governmental organisation-run secondary school in Uganda are discussed. Teachers’ responses are analysed against the background of current Ugandan sex education policies. The paper considers the implications of the conservative morality informing both Ugandan government policy and teachers’ implementation of sex education at the focus school. It is argued that, in the light of young Ugandans’ attitudes towards and often varied experiences of sexuality, a comprehensive rights-based approach to sex education may be more appropriate in the described setting.
Notes
1. School-based sex education takes many forms, and is also known variously as ‘sexuality education’, ‘sex and relationships education’ or, more euphemistically, ‘family life education’ or ‘life skills education’ (UNESCO Citation2007, 8). The broad term sex education is used to refer to all of these different practices in this paper.
2. The name of the school and all participants’ names have been changed to maintain anonymity.
3. PIASCY was introduced by the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in 2003 for primary schools, and in 2006 for secondary schools. The secondary school module consists of four policy documents: a ‘Training Manual’, a ‘Teacher Resource Book on HIV/AIDS’, and two ‘Student Handbooks on HIV/AIDS’ (lower post primary and upper post primary) (MoES Citation2006a, Citation2006b, Citation2006c, Citation2006d.
4. The use of the ABC approach to HIV prevention has proved controversial. The fall in HIV prevalence in Uganda during the 1990s was attributed to the success of the ABC approach, which formed the putative evidence-base for its promotion in developing countries by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief from 2003 to 2010. However, Parkhurst (Citation2011) and Kirby and Halperin (2008) have challenged the notion that abstinence-only messages were the cause of this success, arguing that it was in fact the combination of ‘breaking up the sexual networks by having fewer sexual partners’ and ‘decreasing the risk of HIV transmission through the use of condoms’ that led to Uganda’s HIV prevention efforts having a powerful impact in the late 1980s and early 1990s (Kirby and Halperin 2008, 29).
5. The PIASCY curriculum was not formally being implemented at the school at the time of this study, although one of the Biology teachers (Joanne) had received PIASCY training, and the Headmaster stated that the school was planning to introduce the curriculum over the coming year.
6. This is a fairly moderate expression of the widely-reported homophobia in Uganda, which is often characterised by ‘rage, revulsion, disgust and malevolence’ (Tamale Citation2007, 17). The controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 originally stipulated the death penalty for some homosexual acts, although this has reportedly been dropped. Uganda’s President Museveni recently stated that ‘if there are some homosexuals, we shall not kill or persecute them but … we cannot accept promotion of homosexuality as if it is a good thing’ (BBC News Online Citation2012).
7. After finding out that a female student was being sexually abused by her brother-in-law (who paid her school fees), one teacher strongly encouraged the student’s sister to place her in the boarding school under the pretext that it would improve her academic performance. Another teacher reported helping older female students to save money with her at the school in order to build up capital for their school fees and so avoid transactional ‘sugar daddy’ relationships with older men (Edith, CRE teacher; Susan, Economics teacher).