Building perspectives on gender and sexuality
18 December 2006
The Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Integration programme at Alliance India has led a three-day workshop on gender and sexuality for implementing non-governmental organisations. The workshop successfully built staff’s perspectives on gender and sexuality, as well as exploring their mainstreaming in the programme, using discussions, games, exercises and activities.
About the sessions
Sessions focused on issues related to gender and sexuality and their integration into sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS programming. They included:
- an introduction to gender, health and development
- concepts, definitions, roles and stereotypes
- gendered positions
- concepts and elements of empowerment
- sexuality, sexual health and sexual rights
- the influence of sexuality and decision-making on sexual preferences
- a health-based approach to sexuality, gaps, rights and ethical issues
- looking again at interventions from a gender and sexuality perspective.
What the participants thought
Participants found the workshop enriching, useful and relevant to their work and intervention activities.
“Now we have all this information about sex, it is sometimes so frustrating to wonder why were we not given this information when we were adolescents. We would have been spared our misinformation, fears and experiments.”
“While participating in the exercise on making choices, I saw myself choosing to use my sexuality according to my own wishes and needs. I never knew this side of myself before. It reflects my orientation towards sex and life.”
“This is the first time sex has been dealt as sex and not as a cause of infections and diseases. I wish we could take this approach to designing and implementing programmes.”
