Email CCSD or Vis-à-vis | CCSD Home Page| Table of Contents (current issue)Using colourful language loaded with emotions, young mothers 15 to 18 years old participated in a project aimed at promoting safe sex. For eight consecutive weeks, these residents of a provincial group home for teenaged mothers in crisis discussed various themes related to relationships and sexuality.
These young women all have certain things in common: they are sexually active, they don't use any birth control or condoms, and they are pregnant. Physically, their bodies are changing. In the middle of their adolescence, they find themselves with a big belly. They focus on their cellulitis. They feel unattractive, undesirable. They are tormented by their physical appearance. Such are the realities and preoccupations of these young women. It is in this context that they are encouraged to discuss the pleasures, or rather the emotions related to sexuality. Discussing self- esteem and sexuality is essential if these teens are ever to develop safer, more responsible sexual behaviour.
Beth, a survivor of incest, feels it is quite normal to be pregnant for a second time at age 16. Edith declares, "You want to get out of a group home? It's simple. Do like I did, get pregnant. They won't want to keep you."
Alcohol, vibrators, drugs, penetration, passion, pornography, affection, pain These are the key words of their sexuality. When Beth speaks for the first time about her history of incest, many of the participants stare down at the floor. All of them listen to her say that, for her, and for her peers, being a woman means having children. For most of the residents in this home, sexuality holds painful and traumatic memories. Sex is not a source of pleasure but a means of survival. The use of a condom as protection and prevention is very low on their list of priorities. A better understanding of the risks of STDs or HIV infection would help these young women to realize that safe sex concerns them personally.
Exercises on secrets, language and sexual body language launched the sessions with a touch of humour. Various themes were discussed: Let's talk about boys. Where did you first learn about sexuality? How I want to be loved. Safe sex kit. Making decisions as a couple.
A video on condom use drew a flood of questions. The girls enthusiastically took part in a game of "true or false," vying for prized black condoms for every correct answer. A testimonial video and role-playing games encouraged the participants to adjust their sexual practices in view of HIV, STDs, fungal infections and the various methods of contraception available. A variety of activities and animation techniques were used: role playing, scenarios, videos, dramatizing, doubling, and so on.
Questionnaires to measure knowledge and self-esteem were filled out at the beginning and end of the workshops and a comparison of the results indicated an improvement. The individual and group activities enabled the participants to increase their sexual knowledge and the workshops as a whole fostered greater self-esteem. This was reflected in their ability to assert themselves and to use their personal resources to better communicate their needs.
The teenager's cry is impassioned: "I want to love and be loved; help me!" This longing for love must no longer expose teens to HIV or STDs.
France Laroche is the co-ordinator of Étape par Étape at COCQ-SIDA. She can be reached at:
4205 rue St. Denis
Montreal, QC, H2J 2K9
Tel: (514) 844-2477, fax: 844-2498
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