Promising Practice Programs
Sex & Ethics Sexual Assault Prevention Program
| Agency | Social Justice and Social Change Research Centre |
| Website | http://www.sexualethics.org.au |
| Contact | Associate Professor Moira Carmody Phone: 02 9772 6175 |
| Start date | 2005 |
| End date | Ongoing implementation in NSW and Queensland under the Respectful Relationships Program of FaHCSIA and funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice |
| Funding source | The Sex & Ethics program is a result of a partnership grant funded by the Australian Research Council (2005 -2008). The industry partner was NSW Rape Crisis Centre. |
| Program type | Sexual assault prevention education program. |
| Geographical area | The program was piloted in NSW and has received national and international interest. The program is currently being implemented in Wellington New Zealand. |
| Target group | Young women and men aged 16-25 years. |
| Program context | The Sex & Ethics Sexual Assault Prevention Program grew out of Moira Carmody’s, recognition and frustration that most existing strategies for sexual assault prevention education were lacking in some key areas necessary for preparing young people for sexually active lives. In particular, this includes the voices and experiences of the young people to whom the programs are directed, as well as the interface of sexuality, sexuality education and violence prevention. To address this gap Carmody conducted a research study interviewing rural and urban young people about their experiences of sex, sexuality and violence prevention education and pleasure and danger. The findings are published in a book that considers new ways of thinking about sex, sexual assault and prevention together with an education program focusing on promoting ethical non-violence skills that assists young people to negotiate sexual intimacy in a positive way. |
| Program aim | Sex & Ethics focuses on promoting ethical, non-violent relationships. The program aims to enable young people to become more ethically literate in sexual intimacy by encouraging participants to gain knowledge and skills about ethical decision-making in relation to sexual intimacy. A long-term goal is to build the capacity of young people to negotiate sexual intimacy to reduce unwanted and coerced sex in casual and long-term relationships, and ultimately to prevent sexual assault. |
| Program description | The program comprises six weekly sessions of 2-3 hours run by two educators and involving either single-gender or mixed-gender groups of around 12 young people. Key elements of the program include the application of the Sexual Ethics Framework developed by Carmody to young people’s lived experiences; the use of program resource tools; experienced educators; voluntary participation; and evaluation. Framework The Sex & Ethics Sexual Assault Prevention Program ultimately involves applying four interconnected steps to sexual intimacy:
Each of the weekly sessions involves discussing this framework and applying these steps to real-life situations faced by young people to enable them to become more ethically literate in sexual intimacy. Resource tools and structured sessions The program is resourced by a manual - including a CD of all handouts and teaching materials - which details individual sessions. The sessions are ordered and structured to reflect the best workings as found in evaluations of pilot program. The program manual is accompanied by a resource book on the conceptual framework of the initiative and the young people’s experiences of sex and the impact of the program on their lives. Sessions involve interactive activities on a range of topics, including: different perspectives on sexual intimacy; sexual ethics framework; pressures to be sexual and how to handle them; non-verbal communication; alcohol and drugs and the impact of sexual decision-making; consent and the law; relationships; negotiating conflicting desires and needs; recognising the signs of an abusive relationship; breaking up; ethical bystander behaviour; and standing up to sexual violence in the community.Resource tools are listed in References below. Experienced Educators Key to the effective running of the program are educators with experience in working with young people, knowledge about sexual violence and other forms of violence, and personal skills to be effective educators with young people, and who have workplace support. Voluntary participation Voluntary participation is a program requirement; forced participation is considered contradictory to a program based on ethical behaviour. Further, the program does not tell participants what to do but rather provides them with a framework and skills to help them make ethical decisions about intimate relationships. Evaluation As noted above, evaluation is an integral part of the Sex & Ethics program. An evaluation of the pilot program was conducted and findings were integrated into the program’s development. Long term follow up of the sexual ethics education program demonstrated a significant positive impact on young people’s lives that was sustained six months after they completed the program. |
| Conceptual framework and research base | A key and innovative part of the Sex & Ethics program is that it brings together research and practice with young people from both the sexuality and violence prevention fields. The sources that have informed this program include published evaluations of sexual prevention programs in Australia and abroad, research on sexuality education, knowledge about experience of, and responses to, sexual assault among young people, and pedagogical approaches to active learning. The program was informed by in-depth interviews with young people, including their experience around sex and decision making in relationships and their views on how to improve sexuality and violence prevention education. The program draws on a well-considered conceptual framework. Michel Foucault’s, work on how we can develop ethical sexual lives has been adapted to provide an easy to use framework for discussions about violence prevention and sexuality. The resource manual, Sex & Ethics: young people and sexual ethics, provides more detail about the theories and research used to develop the Sex & Ethics program. |
| Program related publications and references | The Sex & Ethics program has two key resources for running the program – a practical guide and a book outlining the research that underpinned the program development and the impact of the program on young people who participated. Carmody, M (2009) Sex and Ethics: the sexual ethics education program for young people, Melbourne, Palgrave Macmillan Carmody, M, (2009) Sex and Ethics: young people and ethical sex, Melbourne, Palgrave Macmillan. The program author, Moira Carmody, has published extensively on the topic of sexual ethics and violence prevention since 1992. See the project website for some of her more recent publications. |
| Evaluation | The pilot program has been formally evaluated. The evaluation included pre and post testing and a six month follow up of participants |