Sex-education for children in India - Designing a sex-educative toolkit to empower adolescents & improve ease of communication between parents and children in India.

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School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
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Date

2024

Department

muo

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Mcode

Degree programme

Master's Programme in Creative Sustainability

Language

en

Pages

92 + 8

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Abstract

This thesis addresses the urgent need for improved sex-education in India.A designed sex-educative toolkit is created for children between the ages of 8-15. The Sex-Ed Kit is intended to enhance learning at homes, addressing critical topics such as sex, menstruation, consent, identifying abuse, body image, porn and contraception. The intended audience of this thesis includes change-makers, educators, parents, mental health professionals, designers and anyone that is driven to enhance sexual education practices. The context of the thesis is set in India, where the education system fails to meet the sex-education needs of the youth due to political turbulence and the prevalence of shame. The shame and stigma also makes parents reluctant to openly discuss complex topics related to sex with their children. The severe information gap leads to a series of dire consequences in the landscape of India. A few of the issues identified include increased sexual violence, gender based violence, increased transmission of STDs, unintended and teenage pregnancies, body image issues, menstruation related discrimination, LGBTQIA+ bullying and increased shame. Due to the prevalence of governmental inadequacies to bring comprehensive sex- education, this thesis aims to address these issues by leading to the design of a sex-ed toolkit focusing on parent to child sex-education. The thesis objectives are to identify challenges within the parent-child context and overcome them to make the toolkit design possible in a successful manner. The study employs qualitative and participatory research methods such as a focus group, co-design workshop and an expert focus group. The focus group and co-design workshop are conducted with young Indian adults to explore their experience with the lack of sex-education, identify parent-child related challenges and co-design toolkit solutions to overcome them. The toolkit prototype is reviewed, corrected and iterated with an expert focus group panel consisting of a mental health professional, a doctor, a parent and educators. The thesis culminates in the design of the sex-education toolkit alongside a framework consisting of its features aimed to be used by parents and children in India. This endeavor aims to bridge the sex-education gap in India, fostering open conversations and creating safer spaces for children while mitigating the adverse effects of inadequate sex-education.

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Supervisor

Gaziulusoy, Idil

Thesis advisor

Chadej, Avanti

Keywords

comprehensive sex-education, playful learning, social sustainability, toolkit design, childrens’ safety, gender inequality, social justice

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202409016072

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[master] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS