It is not always easy for teachers to talk about sex in South Africa. This is what they told us

Rural Lampopo, connected to the South African province of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, faces more risk of HIV, non -planned pregnancy and other social challenges.

One of the reasons is that they do not always get sexual education that are connected to their living facts. Schools provide lessons on waterpatics, HIV prevention and relationships. But often, what is taught in the class does not match it, which is facing the outsiders, which leads to unsafe sexual acts.

We are part of the engagement project of the University of South Africa, which is focused on preventing HIV in learning in Lampopo Province. To understand the space, we, we run a three -day workshop with 19 teachers (16 women) from rural schools near Moses. The border city is on a busy trading path, where high movement, transactional sex and trafficking risk creates the daily life of learners.

Our goal was to listen to the teachers directly to how they visit the teaching of sex and look for ways to make it more efficient.

Talking about sex at school

19 teachers came from eight public primary and secondary schools. They all taught a compulsory article in South African schools, the curriculum of life, which covers life skills, sex education and HIV prevention for learners from 4 to 12 (ages 9 to 18 years of age). It covers topics like health and well -being, including sex education. Teachers are expected to provide these lessons in a proper, partnership manner of age.

Teachers told us that they often struggle with this part of the curriculum. It is not straightforward to talk about sex in the classroom. Some learners laugh, others stay silent, and some challenge the authority of the teachers. Teachers acknowledged that in the form of their own discomfort, cultural and religious beliefs, sometimes openly engaging openly makes it difficult.

What did the teachers say

During the workshop, teachers clearly talked about these obstacles.

• Cultural and religious prohibition: Many parties expect adults, especially women, not to openly discuss sex. Teachers are worried about doing justice to parents or community leaders if they speak very clearly to learners. They are lagging behind culturally, personal discomfort, and local facts.

Lampopo makes it difficult for the prevention of traditional beliefs around HIV and notorious teachers, parents and learners. Teachers who teach life’s familiarity are sometimes called “TheThashir and Yu Finza Zahudzimo” – “The teacher who teaches forbidden topics.” This silence allows to maintain myths and misunderstandings.

• Limited training and resources obstacles: Teachers say they have not received enough preparations for sexual education. Some rely only on textbooks, which they felt that the facts faced by the learners were not focused, such as early sex debut, peer pressure, or access to social media.

Teachers often feel lonely. Some said they have not received enough training or content to educate HIV, sexual health or sensitive issues. In this cultural context, sexuality is still seen as a private matter.

One teacher told us, “When we were raised, it was forbidden to talk about sex with children. Some parents think that we are teaching forbidden things.”

Some teachers have more than 60 learners in the class, which makes it difficult for everyone to pay attention. And, with learners, speaking different languages, some important messages are lost.

Videos, posters and teaching aids are rare. Teachers have to rely on mostly to talk, which doesn’t always work for difficult topics such as sex.

Despite these challenges, teachers also explained how they try to adopt. Some learners use a story story, rollplay, or small group discussions to make some learners more comfortable. Other health professionals bring to talk about sensitive topics. This approach, despite the challenges, can make the lessons more engulfed while respecting local principles and working with limited resources.

What can teachers do differently

During our workshops, teachers discussed that they believed there would be effective ways to provide culturally related sex education in rural schools.

1.) Small group discussions: Teachers found that learners are more comfortable to share in small groups: “Learners open more and learn from each other.”

) Drama and Rollplay: He advised that real -life conditions, such as handling the pressure of a peer or helping a friend with HIV, can make lessons more real and memorable.

) Use of videos: Short, easy videos produced by experts about HIV and relationships will help to explain tough topics.

) Demonstrations: They saw the value of showing how to use condoms (men and women) to promote practical skills.

) Stories and case studies: Teachers believed that sharing stories, whether it was true or made, would help learners connect the lessons to their lives: “Children remember stories better. They see themselves or their family.

) Combined teaching and sports: He recommends learners or other teachers to guide some parts of the lessons, and use local sports and songs to entertain and engage things.

These suggestions by teachers are found in the methods used in South Africa and beyond successful sex education programs.

Overall, teachers’ ideas reflect a proven strategy from other successful programs and can be extremely effective if the rural lampo is molded.

What do teachers need

The Department of Basic Education reports that during the initial training of elementary teachers, teachers of life familiarity receive sexual education content. The department has also developed scripted lessons projects to improve the teacher’s confidence and curriculum consistency. Life skills and training in service through workshops affiliated with the HIV/AIDS Education Program are offered timely, but these sessions are not permanently available in all provinces, which makes the difference in the preparation of teachers.

Studies have highlighted that many of the teachers of life still feel less ready, especially when learning to deal with trauma or sexual violence. Many teachers rely on self -study, peer networks, and NGO support programs to strengthen their abilities in teaching sex.

The teachers we talked to were to know more about HIV, sexual health and new treatment. They needed to know how to help children who may not be in accordance with traditional gender roles. He sought training to advise and support learning learning learning. And they demanded the help of other teachers, principals and community.

Workshops like ours can help teachers build confidence, share strategies and help each other. Teachers told us that they appreciate the place to consider their beliefs and follow new ways.

What is clear is that teachers cannot bear the burden alone. In training programs, they should be equipped with practical tools, not just ideology. Parents, community leaders and health workers also need to engage, so that sexual education outside the classroom can be strengthened.

We will also detect how over time, how these methods affect the knowledge, attitudes and practices of learners.

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