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Jakarta Post

SETARA brings reproductive health to classrooms

When it comes to education on sexual reproductive health (SRH), misunderstanding and suspicion persist

Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post)
Thu, January 17, 2019

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SETARA brings reproductive health to classrooms

When it comes to education on sexual reproductive health (SRH), misunderstanding and suspicion persist.

Sexual reproductive health education has always been a critical issue confronting young people, educators, parents and society at large.

Robert Blum, a professor at the department of Population and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that in Indonesia and many neighboring countries, SRH remained a taboo topic never discussed at home or taught in schools.

“These youth are often missing out in important information that, in many cases, can save their lives,” said Blum, who conducts research and studies on youths around the world and is now involved in a four-year Explore4Action project together with the Gadjah Mada University and Rutgers WPF Indonesia.

Very few sources of information and service providers exist for Indonesian youths. Moreover, SRH messages often focus on physical aspects, such as the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases or family planning — topics that may not resonate with the youth, he added.

“Instead, educators or advocates should link SRH with topics related to boosting youth’s self-worth, self-esteem and feeling good about their bodies, their future and developing healthy relationships with female and male friends,” the professor said.

To equip local students with accurate information on SRH issues, NGO Rutgers WPF Indonesia piloted a school curriculum called Semangat Dunia Remaja (SETARA or Teen’s Aspirations), which was based on the World Starts With Me (WSWM) global program developed by Rutgers.

In 2010, UNESCO’s international technical guidance on sexuality education recommended WSWM as one of 18 comprehensive programs in the field worldwide. With technical support from Rutgers, WSWM was adapted to the Indonesian context and specific age group.

In Indonesia, SETARA has been implemented in the classroom since 2013 in Jakarta, Bandar Lampung in Lampung; Semarang, Central Java; Denpasar, Bali; Sukabumi, West Java; Rembang, Central Java; and Bogor, West Java.

To implement the program, Rutgers WFP Indonesia works with partners such as the Pelita Ilmu Foundation in Jakarta, International Planned Parenthood (PKBI) Yogyakarta, Lampung, Bali and Sikok Foundation in Jambi.

All the interviewed students and teachers at SMP Saraswati junior high school in Denpasar asked to remain anonymous in discussing the sensitive topic.

“SETARA is fun with games. It is creative, modern. It is not boring like biology,” said 14-year-old Ratih (not her real name).

“This makes me curious to know more about reproductive health, and I get information about menstruation and menstrual health. I didn’t know about personal hygiene before,” she said.

“The first time for me to hear about reproductive health is from SETARA. I used to get angry at friends easily, but through SETARA, I learned about stress management. Now I know how to handle emotions,” a boy stated.

“I like the part when we discuss about ‘the world starts with me’. It is a game when we write down things about ourselves and share those to someone close to us. I learn to listen to other friends. Now I know more about what they like and dislike. People are different, but it is okay. Also, I start to understand myself better,” said Hanny, 14.

“I support SETARA, because I have found there are many cases happening with students right now; it is a reality. I am really worried about the development — they bring [pornographic] pictures to the public sphere [classroom]. I want to help them with dating the healthy way. These are millennials, they access the Internet,” said a teacher who declined to be named over the sensitiveness of the issue.

“We realized these cases are here too, we cannot deny it; but sometimes we as teachers do not have the capacity to discuss them. But SETARA is a tool to discuss it. Other teachers can benefit.”

She said her role was to understand the students better and communicate with them on how to protect themselves from vulnerability and risk. “SETARA improved my interaction with them. It is not about the topic, it is about life skills, about yourself as a person,” the teacher said.

“It is a shame that we implement SETARA only at a few schools. I urge the Denpasar municipal government to expand it to more classes and schools.”

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