Parent–child communication, sexuality and intergenerational conflict in multicultural and multifaith communities

ABSTRACT

Parent–child communication about gender and sexuality has received increasing attention since the late 1990s, in response to growing awareness that open dialogue plays a vital role in sex and relationships education, and improving sexual health outcomes for families and young people. However, the insights gained from this literature have been under-researched in Multicultural and Multifaith communities. Research of this kind is vital because such families often face ‘intergenerational’ conflicts that emerge through the process of migration, and which largely result from differing sex and gender norms in the country of origin and country of resettlement. In this paper, we argue that current research on migration and ‘intergenerational conflict’ has particular import for progressing research on parent–child communication that attends to the diverse range of cultures and communities living in Australia. We draw on pilot research in South Australia with parents and children from various African countries, which offers insights for the production of culturally appropriate knowledge and support material. We also provide suggestions on how to address parent–child communication that is alive to the nuances and complexities that emerge across race, sexuality and migration.

KEYWORDS:

• Intergenerational relations
• sexuality
• sex education
• migration
• culture
• Australia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. To capture the diversity that makes up the Australian population, we use the term MCMF communities. As argued by Pallotta-Chiarolli and Rajkhowa (2017) this term ‘allows for greater understanding of and engagement with diversity in research, policy development and programme design’, acknowledging and addressing the intersectionalities of diverse cultures, faiths, generations and migrant/asylum seeker status. The term refers to those who are multicultural and multifaith, while also accounting for the cross-cutting multi-faith and multi-cultural identities that occur within a culture, and within a faith.