Recap: Flipping the Script - Let's Talk About Sexual Health (25 Mar 2022)
30 Apr 2022 | Events – “In Conversation…” Series
By: Ananya Mathur
The fourth episode of NCU’s “In Conversation…” series was held on 25 Mar 2022. Panelists from NUS, Yale-NUS, as well as AWARE were invited to shed light on how we can approach and navigate conversations regarding sexual health.
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Tong Yew Kwan (Deputy Head at NUS Care Unit), and joined by Ms. Tan Joo Hymn (Project Director for “Birds & Bees” at AWARE), Dr. Basil Wu (Senior Health Physician at the University Health Centre), Ms. Fiona Freeman-Grundei and Ms. Olivia Dure (Survivor Support Advisors at Yale-NUS), as well as Ms. Natalie Wong (Care Manager at NUS Care Unit).
The seminar kicked off with a poll about their earliest exposure to sexual health, in which most participants said primary school (45%), followed by secondary school (25%), and friends (17%). Only about 4% had been introduced to topics about sex and sexual health by their parents.
Ms. Tan added that unsurprisingly, according to AWARE’s own surveys, there is a still major barrier between young people and parents to have conversations with each other about sexual health. She commented that such topics are vital to a child’s sexual well-being and should be introduced at an early age.
Education about sex and sexual health can educate children from young about the value of respect and consent, equipping them with the knowledge and language to speak up and guard against sexual misbehaviours.
On that note, Dr. Tong inquired what a healthy relationship with a partner looks like. Ms. Wong responded by positing that a healthy relationship consists of mutual respect, healthy boundaries, plenty of communication, and a balanced amount of time spent together and apart. Ms. Wong also touched on some red flags in relationships that could lead to abuse, such as emotional manipulation.
Dr. Wu then weighed in with a medical take on sexual health, debunking certain myths about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in his conversation about safe sex. Ms. Dure also surfaced the common misconception that marital sex is always safe and that casual sex is always unsafe.
Emotional strain, mental health issues, unwanted pregnancies and STIs can also occur within marital sex, such as when one partner is unfaithful to their partner. On the other hand, casual sex can be practised safely by taking the necessary precautions. Ms. Tan supported Ms. Dure’s comments, pointing out that in 2005 and 2006, the largest rate of HIV/AIDS infection was among married women, hence the assumption that marital sex is always safe is dangerous.
Ms. Freeman-Grundei shared about some programmes they have conducted to raise awareness of sexual health, including educating students on navigating oft-ignored topics in sexual health such as healthy expressions of masculinity and sexual identity.
Ms. Dure added that they found success in conducting a mandatory module on respect and consent, since it was run in small groups where students can share and learn from one another’s experiences.
In closing, the panellists reiterated the importance of respect and consent in relationships, as well as being non-judgemental in conversations about sexual health.
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual misconduct, please reach out to NCU for support by calling our sexual misconduct helpline (+65 6601 4000) or emailing us at ncu_help@nus.edu.sg.
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