Of Sex and Sexuality
Jul 2019 - Nov 2019
Service Design | UX Design | Creative Education
To design a system-service to impart Comprehensive Sexuality Education (hereby referred to as CSE) to chidren and teenagers living in urban India in such a manner that it is holistic, inclusive, and loops parents into the discussion.
Objective
Skills & Tools Used
Design Strategy, Rapid Prototyping, User Testing, Design Research, Data Analysis, Affinity Mapping, System Mapping, Empathy Map, Customer Journey Map, Logo Design // InDesign, Illustrator
Research was conducted to understand the current state of CSE in India - the success and failings of government, NGO and private organization initiated schemes in this regard, the content material of these programs, where the youth get their information regarding topics of sex and sexuality from, current knowledge penetration rates, and whether there is a dire need for CSE in India.
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Methods of research used: literature reviews (academic papers, government data, data from the UN, online articles, surveys etc.)
Secondary
Research
Primary research was conducted to understand the current state of CSE in urban Indian schools (private and public) and homes, and to understand reasons for the negative perceptions of, need for, and lack of CSE in urban India.
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Methods of research used: survey (100 respondants - urban residents, aged 18-22, from middle-high income backgrounds) and one-on-one interviews (young adults, parents, doctors, psychologists, counsellors, school teachers and sex educators (government and privately employed)).
Primary
Research
Important Insights
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Children and young adults may possess incomplete or incorrect knowledge about matters relating to sex and sexuality, and many topics like sexuality, consent, abuse etc. are not covered.
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There is a lot of awkwardness between adults and children (and young adults) regarding this subject, as there is fear of anger, judgement and awkwardness.
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Many parents rely on schools to clarify their children's doubts regarding these matters.
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There needs to exist a system of sex-ed which helps recipients understand what to do with the received information.
Gaps I'm Focusing On
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Exclusion of parents from the CSE loop.
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Exclusion of subjects like sexual abuse, consent, information about the LGBTQ+ community etc.
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Lack of consistency in implementing CSE programs.
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Lack of integration of CSE into one's daily life.
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Lack of follow up systems to guage a child's understanding of the subject matter taught.
Today’s world is rapidly becoming more vocal about sex and sexuality, with topics like sexual abuse, sexual orientations, consent and toxic masculinity being discussed on various platforms all across the globe. With this large influx of information, it is not only important for one to be able to access the right information, but also be aware of the gravity of, and connections between, the issues discussed in order to make healthy choices for themselves and in their relationships.
The parameters within which ideas were developed were:
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The design should facilitate conversations around the subjects of sex and sexuality in a healthy manner.
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The design should be people-centric and should encourage interaction preferably without a screen involved.
Ideation & Prototyping -
Design Sprint
One of the ideas - a sex-ed fair consisting of various games, installations, food and product stalls themed around various topics of sex and sexuality - was prototyped and tested with fellow classmates and faculty. The aim of the idea was to turn something serious and taboo in India into something open, conversational, and in some cases, fun.
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Detailed overview of parent’s opinions on sex-ed and their willingness to participate in the same, at school or at home.
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Parents’ current relationship with their children on how and whether they address topics of sex and sexuality at home.
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Communication between parents and school.
Further Gaps Identified
Mothers and fathers of children aged 10-18 were interviewed to gain insight into their views on sexuality education, their comfort levels and methods of addressing the topic with their children, and their own sources of information for topics regarding sex and sexuality. The insights were:
Further Research
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Many parents trust schools over themselves to impart this education to children, although some of them also reinforce it at home.
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Education of parents makes them, and in turn, the whole family, empathetic towards sensitive subjects like sexual abuse, consent, homophobia etc.
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While most parents stated that their children know they can approach them if they have any personal questions regarding sex and sexuality, many of the children do not tend to do so. This is largely due to awkwardness or a preference for the internet/friend circle, although they do not refrain from discussing current issues regarding the same subject.
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Most parents are aware that their children already know a lot about these subjects. Some of them were unsure, and said their children were too young to understand such serious topics.
These enabled the creation of the following empathy maps to better understand the user base (students, parents, and schools).​
Ideation was done within these parameters (derived from the insights):
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Most, if not all, of the ideas proposed are contextualised in school.
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The ideas heavily involve parents in the learning process.
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They encourage conversations like this, and would slowly encourage more conversations amongst those parents and children who are not very comfortable yet.
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After evaluating all the ideas generated in consultation with some stakeholders of the would-be proposed system, a final concept was chosen, fleshed out, developed, prototyped and tested.
Further Ideation
Final Output
Of Sex and Sexuality is an organization that is dedicated to imparting comprehensive sexuality education to children and young adults in urban Indian schools. It brings a fresh take on the definition of sex-ed, as imparted in India, by striving to include parents as an active part of the education and learning process, as well as making classes and discussions on the subjects of sex and sexuality more activity-based and student-oriented. For generations, we have been vilifying the subjects of sex and sexuality, and we can no longer afford to continue doing so. Let’s help each other undo the stigma.​
For whom? Children between the ages of 11-18 (Grade 6 to Grade 11) and their parents.
By whom? Children and parents will be taught by NGOs and individuals who have expertise in fields related to sex an sexuality, assisted by Of Sex and Sexuality as an external organization.
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Where? Tier ‘A’ Schools (within the school campus).
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When? Classes will be held throughout the academic year, and will be conducted every year for Grade 6 - Grade 11. There will be around 8-10 classes for each grade; one class will be held every 2-3 weeks.
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How? By means of a Sex-Ed Kit that is designed to guide the subjects to be taught, how they are to be taught, and the kinds of activities through which comprehensive learning can be encouraged.
Logo Design &
Simple Brand Identity
How It Works
Parents attend the classes with their children, taught by qualified individuals. Students take back a little bit of homework - conversation starters - to do with their parents. There are multiple classes throughout the year, each on a different aspect, and after each academic year, students and parents "graduate" to a higher level of sex education.
How the system-service will work - a step by step depiction.
How the system-service will work - a step by step depiction.
What makes Of Sex and Sexuality's sex-ed program unique are the activities - based off of the 4Cs of education - that are used to engage discussion around topics of sex and sexuality in the classes. The syllabus is inclusive - it encourages learning and discussion about topics like reproductive rights, emotional and mental aspects of sex and sexuality, body image, toxic masculinity, the LGBTQ+ community, rape etc.
Each academic year's worth of sex education also results in a "Sex-Ed Day" - an opportunity for parents and children to collectively reflect on what they have learnt throughout the year, collaborate with each other to present a topic of their choice in a non-traditional format - through poetry, photography, art, games, dance, music etc. This is a way for them to synthesize what they have learnt in a tangible output. This ensures that learning is more concrete, as it is a form of “learning by doing” and is also a chance for students and parents to be creative, and learn from each other. Putting their learnings out into the open also encourages people to learn from each other, and each person’s subjective take on their chosen topic provides a different and unique perspective on the same subject.
Activities &
Sex-Ed Day
An'ambassador' is someone who works for Of Sex and Sexuality, and co-ordinates things between the school and the organization.
The Sex-Ed Kit
Three of the four activities (Cause-Consequence-Solution, How would you do it? and Re-write and Re-enact) were tested out with the students of Grade 11 of The Future Kid’s School (Hyderabad). 50 students participated in the activities.
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As a designer, I played the role of the facilitator of the class. In order for the sex-ed class to be as real as possible, I prepared myself to take a class on the subject of ‘Consent’ since it is a topic that I am well versed in.
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I made rough prototypes of the cards for the Cause-Consequence-Solution activity, gathered together scrap material (chart paper, boxes, bottles, paints, string etc.) for the How Would You Do It? activity, and prepared two videos for the Re-write and Re-enact activity (one video clip was from the hit Bollywood movie ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge’ and the second clip was from the popular TV show ‘13 Reasons Why.’) I also baked a cake for the students and teachers as a token of thanks.
User Testing
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Students participating in Cause-Consequence-Solution
Students watching the videos for Rewrite and Re-enact
Learnings from User-Testing
Sessions
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Students took to the activities comfortably and participated well. Since the class was conducted in a way that the students themselves led the learnings, they were able to reflect and reframe their opinions and teach each other through discussions as the class progressed.
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Many students said that they would be uncomfortable in the beginning if their parents were to attend the classes with them, but that they think they would be more comfortable if their parents proved to be open minded. All of the students also agreed that it was important for parents to know about these topics.
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Students want these kinds of classes, and are interested in the subject matter. A considerable number of students admitted to not knowing anything about “consent” at the beginning of the session, and they were able to confidently say that they learnt something by the end of it.
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The Cause-Consequence-Solution activity, paired with the How Would You Do It? activity - seemed to work slightly better than Rewrite and Re-enact. It gave students a wider perspective on the subject of consent, as it was not restricted to particular video clips. However, it ran the risk of being too broad and specific at the same time, as one student pointed out.
The syllabus books, homework books and teaching manuals were also tested out by consulting teachers, sex educators, and experts in fields of sex and sexuality. Their feedback was then incorporated into the contents and visual design of the final outcome.
"Whenever I thought about situations where my answer was a 'no,' it would be a very complex reason. I would give it so much thought, that it would haunt me for days as to why I said 'no' when I could have said 'yes.' But I understood that if anything makes me feel uncomfortable in the slightest, there is nothing wrong with saying 'no.'"
"It was very informative without putting information in my hand but rather getting the information out of what I knew and felt generally."
"I don't know if my parents think I learn these things by myself or if they just don't want to have conversations about it, but I wouldn't be comfortable with them attending the class."
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~testimony from a student at the session
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Most parents and every student I interviewed agreed that CSE is extremely important. Some parents expressed discomfort, and some students were also unsure if they would be comfortable with their parents in the class. It is precisely this discomfort and awkwardness (amongst other reasons like tabooing the topic of sex and sexuality) that prevents holistic discussion of such important topics. One could say that making adjustments defeats the purpose of the subject matter itself - unless sex and sexuality are discussed openly and respectfully, the awkwardness and taboo will always remain.
The changes I would make would be to try and tweak the system such that parents who are highly uncomfortable may also attend in some capacity, if they wish to. However, it is worth noting here that dispelling their awkwardness depends more on the facilitator that on the system itself. I would also like to test the system out for a longer period of time, until it culminates in a "Sex-Ed Day," to see whether it would be successful or not. I'm sure more interesting games and activities (as ways of teaching) will emerge from a prolonged testing period.