
How SINE tackles sex education in the sector of disability in Europe?
- On 04/03/2021
Sex education has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the action of promoting the achievement of a state of psychosexual well-being by an individual“. Among its main reasons, the WHO recognizes the right of all human beings to be informed about sexual rights, in order to achieve the highest level of sexual health.
The Special Intimacy Needs Educator (SINE) project wants to develop a training course addressed to social workers, family members and experts in the sector of disability, for the promotion of sex education in people with disabilities. It is based on a comprehensive approach that provides scientific information and enhances the development of conscious behaviours matured thanks to the information acquired for the formation of an egalitarian society.
The course stems from the conviction that affective and sexual education must be carried out within an interpersonal dimension and which finds its main tool in dialogue. Information and discussion with people with disabilities are the basis of the process of learning about broad and complex sexuality, capable of understanding the world of relationships, affections, as well as individual and cultural values.
The training course takes place online, but the material is also available to print for classroom use. The course modules are provided online, in asynchronous mode, divided into the different modules that (as far as possible) have been set up for self-study. All materials (lessons, activities, slides, etc.) will be provided from the beginning of the course and not gradually. Each student will be able to independently manage their learning activities, eg. will be able to download and study the materials and carry out the activities when and where he/she wants. The training adopts the simple language and a hands-on approach that takes students by the hand.
During the last semester, the SINE project partners collaborated in the organization of a very broad and important training event that took place online. During this event, more than 40 people were involved altogether and most of them released very positive feedbacks. The online training event was one of the successful outcomes of the SINE project, along with its online training course. Also, the SINE partnership worked together for the development of a very rich and inspiring knowledge platform, which all partners improved searching for testimonials, case studies, best practices and interviews to witness how widely discussed the topic is all over Europe and how crucial it is to keep speaking about the matter of special intimacy in search for common solutions for an easier and more accessible sexual life people with disabilities.
The project was developed as part of the Erasmus + program, co-financed by the European Commission. The project consortium is made up of Latvia as a coordinator, 2 partners from Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Romania. During the two-year life of the project, it was necessary to ask for an extension to overcome the difficulties caused by the state of health emergency due to the spread of the Covid19. Despite the difficulties encountered, the consortium managed to adapt to the new working needs, bringing the project objectives to fruition.
Find out the best practices developed for this European project on www.specialintimacy.eu