(JP/Setiono Sugiharto)The prevalence of sexual molestation and abuse occurring in the context of schools seems to bring out an irony in the educational landscape, tarnishing the image of schools as the sites where morality, good manners and positive values are inculcated into the young generation.

Numerous cases of sex abuse involving students and teachers alike indicate that schools have failed to cultivate and develop a sense of respect toward oneself as well as toward others, said Clara Ajisuksmo, educational psychologist and former head of the Center for Societal Development Studies at Atma Jaya University, Jakarta.

Clara contends that one of the possible ways to prevent sexual harassment in schools is to heighten awareness through reproductive health education, highlighting that reproductive health education shouldn'€™t be likened to sex education, which she believes has a negative connotation and is not culturally appropriate in the Indonesian context.

'€œWhat reproductive health education aims is not to expose sexuality or sexual activities, but to educate students that they are endowed with different genders and have different reproductive organs, which are important parts of their anatomy that must be taken care of and respected, and therefore must not be abused. Through this kind of education, they are also informed that an improper treatment of their genitalia, such as having casual sex, can lead to an unhealthy life and a risk of being infected with a sexually transmitted disease like HIV/AIDS'€, Clara said recently.

Clara adds that the eventual goal of reproductive health education is to instill awareness of the importance of respecting oneself and others, especially in terms of how they treat their reproductive organs properly.

Yet, she admits that for reproductive health education to be taught effectively, it cannot stand alone and needs to be contextually integrated with other related subjects such as biology, religion and even character building education, adding that contextualizing it with these subjects through concrete and real-life examples helps students easily digest the learning materials.

 Having earned her PhD in educational psychology from the University of Tilburg, the Netherlands in 1996, Clara was entrusted by UNESCO from 2000 until 2003 to work collaboratively as a researcher under its projects called '€œScientific and technical vocational education for girls schools and learning centers as community catalyst for poverty reduction and empowerment of girls'€.

These projects were part of the UNESCO regional programs on gender equality in education. Five countries were included in this program, including Vietnam, Cambodia and Mongolia.

As a team member of this project, Clara was assigned to research the implementation of the program executed by vocational schools in the pilot regions in Indonesia such as Mataram, Kediri, West Nusa Tengggara, and Karawang, West Java.

Apart from taking an interest in the field of reproductive health, Clara is also piqued by issues related to HIV/AIDS diseases, motivated primarily by her desire to erase the widespread stigma of the HIV/AIDS victims.

'€œThe stigma of HIV/AIDS victims is well-developed in our societies because of the paucity of knowledge about how HIV can spread and is transmitted. We therefore need to enlighten society about this, so that the discrimination against those infected with this deadly virus will no longer happen,'€ she said.

Clara was referring to the case of a teenage boy, who was once refused entry into a private-owned high school in North Jakarta simply because his father admitted that he was tested HIV positive.

Clara'€™s concerns over the spread of HIV/AIDS among youngsters in particular and disadvantaged children in general attracted UNICEF'€™s attention. Due to her vast research and teaching experience on HIV-prone children in remote regions, Clara was asked by UNICEF in 2004 to develop the Information Education and Communication (IEC) learning materials for junior high school students and teachers in Papua. These learning materials were compiled and entitled Let'€™s Talk About HIV/AIDS with Parents, Friends, and Teachers: Manual for Facilitator and Students Booklet, and have been used as a reference to teaching negotiating skills particularly related to drug abuse and casual sex.

Clara said that negotiating skills are of the utmost importance because they can be used as effective communication strategies by a child in the event that their peers try to force them to use drugs and commit other misconducts.

'€œBecause children, especially girls, are deemed powerless and often fall victim to sexual molestation and drug abuse, they must be equipped with negotiating skills when facing pressure, especially from their peers, so that they dare say no to drugs and sex astutely,'€ she said.

Clara also explains that a blatant rejection of drugs often does more harm than good because unless
sensibly rejecting the offer, a child will be ostracized and excluded by their peers.

Popular

Government to permanently relocate 10,000 people after Ruang eruptions

Kokubo's injury time penalty save secures title for Japan

Residents fear for safety as Mount Ruang volcano erupts