Abstinence versus harm reduction approaches to sexual health education

Views of key stakeholders in Saudi Arabia

Bibliographic Data

ID19516012
AuthorsNour Horanieh (0000-0002-6077-8485, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, corresponding author), Wendy Macdowall (0000-0001-5868-8336, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK), Kaye Wellings (0000-0003-1053-8640, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK)
Year2020
Volume20
Issue4
Pages425-440
Publication date2020-07-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSex Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-1811 • E-ISSN: 1472-0825
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14681811.2019.1669150
OpenAlexW2980448842
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited31

This study elicited views of key stakeholders on the need for adolescent sex education and the appropriate model to adopt in Saudi Arabia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 28 stakeholders: policy-makers; social and healthcare providers; teachers and school staff; and religious scholars. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify emerging themes. Stakeholders saw the need to provide sex education. Opinions fell across a spectrum of model preference: abstinence-only or harm reduction. The conceptualisation of harm incorporated social risks. Silences and avoidance marked the boundaries between what was permitted and what was prohibited. In determining the form of any sex education curriculum in Saudi Arabia, caution is needed in assuming the ready transferability of Western-based models of sex education since in Saudi Arabia harm is conceptualised as damaging personal reputation, social structure and physical health. Religious doctrine and scientific evidence are perceived as non-conflicting sources for formulating a culturally sensitive programme. Local idiom characterised by indirectness and ambiguity offers challenges and possibilities for conveying sensitive messages. Findings from this study can be useful for communities with similar religious beliefs or social traditions intending to formulate an acceptable sex education programme

Abstinence · Curriculum · Harm · Harm reduction · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public health · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Taboo · Thematic analysis · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Psychology

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