Liberating Practices
Enduring Approaches for Advancing Youth Sexual Health Education
Core Boundaries for Advancing Youth Sexual Health Education
Intersectionality is necessary to understand the way different identities are impacted by systems of oppression.
Pleasure-based sex education is required.
Different forms of oppression (isms) must be defined and connected to our existing sex education system.
Equitable access to sex education for everyone across the whole spectrum of humans is a necessity.
The core boundaries for youth sexual health education are embedded within the liberating practices synthesized by Trailhead and the anti-oppressive recommendations developed by the Youth Sexual Health Program Board. The liberating practices introduced below emerged as recurring themes when analyzing the anti-oppressive recommendations and action steps. Their delineation as liberating practices serve to distinguish these themes as enduring approaches that all partners within the sexual health field can embody now – while implementing the anti-oppressive recommendations – and in the future, when determining what new action is possible and needed.
These liberating practices begin to imagine new possibilities for the sexual health field that are centered in pleasure, sex positivity, and joy by engaging with young people to understand and address their needs; valuing the spectrum of lived experiences through collaboration; and redistributing power and decision-making.
These liberating practices are not meant to be exhaustive, and may be expanded upon with future consideration.
These Liberating Practices Include:
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1. Centering youth voice.
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2. Practicing authentic community engagement.
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3. Sharing power.
Utilizing Liberating Practices to Take
Anti-Oppressive Action
As partners across the sexual health field move to explore and implement the anti-oppressive recommendations for action across systems, the liberating practices should be utilized as strategies for ensuring that action is rooted in anti-oppression.