Ethical decision-making for sexuality educators: a new model

ABSTRACT

Sex and sexuality are complex, multi-faceted topics. Sexuality educators and practitioners often face challenging dilemmas with few ethical decision-making models available. While there are professional codes of ethics for sex educators, there are no practical models to inform an educator’s ethical decision-making in professional situations. This article outlines a new ethical decision-making model specifically designed for sexuality educators and practitioners – the Ethics Model for Sexuality Educators (EMSE). The model is unique in that it addresses both content and experiences within the field of sexuality education and includes detailed action steps for individuals to follow. Informed by three theoretical frameworks and feedback from practitioners, the model is designed to assist sexuality educators in professional ethical decision-making.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethics
• ethical decision-making model
• sexuality education
• sexuality educators

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. AASECT is the main agency which credentials US sexuality educators. Certified sexuality educators must be knowledgeable in seventeen core knowledge areas, including ethics and ethical behaviour (AASECT 2019).