A text with guidelines for sexual-affective education in primary and secondary schools to fill Italy’s delay, compared to other European countries, in the education of the young population. This is the objective of the manual presented in Rome at Palazzo Giustiniani, created by the Order of Psychologists of Lazio and the Order of Doctors of the Province of Rome, alongside the Sapienza University of Rome and the Tor Vergata University of Rome.
On the choice to talk about ‘sexual-affective education’ – reports a note – Federico Conte, president of the Order of Psychologists of Lazio, clarified that “if on the one hand there is an important need to provide education in the field of prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, on the other hand sexuality is never disconnected from the emotional and relational sphere. And if on the one hand talking about sex is still a taboo, talking about emotional education is a topic that is not even contemplated, delegating this form. of education essentially on TV and social networks”.
On the need for the manual, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Stefano Marini, underlined: “We have the obligation to provide boys and girls with all the appropriate tools to understand and manage their emotions in relation to sexuality in a healthy and responsible way. We believe that education should be aimed not only at the cognitive aspects, but we will have to work a lot on the emotional, relational and sexual aspects, to train individuals capable of building healthy relationships”. The text “promotes a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to the subject – explained Marta Giuliani, psychosexologist and councilor of the Lazio Psychologists Association, among the authors – placing the theme of sexual education in a social and public health perspective, and recognizing in Inclusiveness and respect for different identities are the key concepts of every form of intervention. We must understand that sexual education in schools is the main means to prevent all forms of sexual violence and intolerance, to recognize and guarantee emotional and sexual rights, as well as helping children to develop critical and aware thinking that is respectful of themselves and others”.
An essential element for the success of this intervention lies in the integration between perspectives and professionalism. “The medical and psychological approaches – observed Maria Grazia Tarsitano, endocrinologist, councilor of the Order of Doctors of the province of Rome and author of the text – must proceed together, as has always happened in schools for prevention activities and health promotion. But the presence of these figures is not sufficient, the guiding criterion must be that of multidisciplinarity: a complex of actors must integrate effectively in a path that starts from the moment in which the child develops awareness of his own sexuality, to continue and adapt to the needs dictated over the years by the growth process”.
The initiative, according to Senator Filippo Sensi, promoter of the presentation event, “is of great courage and of great practical use. The guidelines, in fact, do not only represent a survey on the topic of education, but constitute a box of tools for the legislator and an incentive for the participation and empowerment of all categories. The activity I carry out in the Commission of inquiry into feminicide – he adds – would push me to consider the crudeness of the numbers a sufficient element to justify the urgency of an intervention. , but we live in a rigid political climate, in which there is a need to build a path. What is needed is cultural, collective, prevention and accompaniment work: an intervention at various levels such as the one designed by this manual”.
Today “there exists a varied spectrum of behavioral manifestations that concern sexuality – illustrated Giacomo Ciocca, associate of Psychopathology of sexual behavior at the Sapienza University of Rome and author of the text – From issues relating to psychosexual development to those concerning gender differences, from discrimination linked to sexual inclinations, to risky sexual behaviour. With the advent of digital, a world of possibilities and new practices has opened up: let’s think of ‘sexting’, the use of so-called ‘dating apps’, but also to the problematic consumption of pornography generated by the enormous amount of material available, there is therefore a great deal of work to be done, which must be aimed at children with the aim of offering nothing other than awareness sexual-affective in no way encourages young people to experiment with sexual activity, but provides them with the tools to make informed, respectful and safe choices'”.
After an overview of the state of the art of studies on sexual-affective education and the main international guidelines proposed on the topic by governmental and non-governmental agencies, the central part of the study outlines a synergistic and interdisciplinary intervention strategy in the school context, based on guarantee of truly effective management of the children’s development.
“We are talking about a new sexology – specifies Emmanuele Jannini, professor of Endocrinology and medical sexology, founder of the Chair of Andrology and medical sexology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and one of the authors of the manual – We call it the sexology of systems, which are four: the system of the mind, which is that of psychosexologists, psychiatrists and child neuropsychiatry; the system of experience, which is that of culture, religion, history, education, or that of sociology; of politics and economics; and obviously, the body system, with biology, internal medicine, endocrinology, andrology, gynecology, urology. It is a table with 4 legs on which – he describes the expert – must support the fundamental element for sexual health: self-determination, which can only be achieved through culture. Not only must information be conveyed through sexual and sentimental education, but also culture in general . The one that gives us the most precious asset we have, our freedom.”
The hope of the authors – concludes the note – is that the work done in defining this text constitutes a starting point, and not an arrival point, capable of opening spaces for reflection and thought for an increasingly updated and in-depth conceptualization of the sexual-affective education. A path that can allow our country to finally reach those fundamental standards indicated by the main global educational agencies.
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