Tuesday, October 2022
Being a sexual health educator at Life Ed Queensland is the perfect job for me – it’s my area of expertise, after completing PhD research in sexuality education.
I’m passionate about young people having shame-free access to information about their bodies and their health and safety. I’m so proud to be delivering the education I wish I had received when I was at school.
I’ve had a varied and interesting life – particularly in my younger years – which I feel has provided me with the life experiences to understand what most young people are going through. After many jobs and a career in academia where I was lecturing in Media and Communications, I now feel like I’ve found the right fit for me.
My role as a sexual health educator with Life Ed sees me teaching students the Talk About It program which covers topics like puberty, sexual health, relationships, consent, identity and body safety in a non-threatening classroom setting.
It’s so valuable to have a specialist come into the school to teach these topics because many teachers often didn’t get adequate sexuality education themselves.
It can also be a bit awkward for teachers to broach these topics with their students when they might be ill-equipped to start that conversation.
Having someone like me come in enables them to feel comfortable continuing that conversation with their students and gives the students someone who they can ask any questions of without fear of embarrassment.
I love seeing looks of recognition (and relief) on kids’ faces as I’m speaking, when they realise that what they’ve been experiencing is just a normal part of puberty.
And it always feels so lovely and rewarding when a young person comes up to me at the end of a session and thanks me for teaching them about their body and puberty.
It’s so important that young people have access to the right information to support their sexual health education.
By equipping them with the knowledge and confidence to make safer and healthier choices, we can help to reduce teen pregnancy and STI infections, as well as empower young people to enjoy safe, healthy and respectful relationships throughout their adult life.
Want to learn more about the Talk About It program offered by Life Ed Queensland? Visit here to find out more information.
