PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) state that the promotion and achievement of gender equality has become one of the important global goals for a sustainable future. The goal is to eliminate any form of gender inequality that can cause a huge waste of human potential. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE- Comprehensive Sex Education) as a critical driver to achieve gender equality (UNESCO, 2019). CSE is defined as an age-appropriate, culturally relevant approach to teaching about sexuality and relationships by providing scientifically accurate, realistic, and non-judgmental information (UNESCO, 2015). In Malaysia, sexuality education has existed for over a decade. However, many available studies show many challenges that hinder the achievement of gender equality. Recent studies have also shown that an average of 18,000 teenage girls in Malaysia become pregnant each year. Of this number, 25 percent or about 4,500 cases involved pregnancies outside of marriage (The Star, 2022). 

JUSTIFICATION OF COMMUNITY PROBLEMS/NEEDS

Gender equality is not only confined to human rights but also important in accelerating sustainable development project progress (United Nations, 2022). According to Johari Talib et. al (2012), comprehensive sex education (CSE) can empower boys and girls to understand and respect their physical differences and make wise choices related to their rights and responsibilities by providing them information that comes with the decision to be together, have children, control over their bodies, and make informed decisions in their lives. CSE is regarded as a tool to foster gender equality and norms, at the same time preventing and eliminating all forms of discrimination that women and girls face. 

The Malaysian education system has introduced sex education in a limited perspective. Mohd Mutalip and Mohamed (2012), reported that sex education in schools acceptance among adolescents is moderately high and agree to be applied to school subjects where it can curb social problems among young people in the country. Sexual education is still stigmatised in Malaysia, teenagers are observed to have difficulty in finding a safe space to have an open conversation and obtain the proper answers and receive help about sexual and reproductive health. They engage in online activities and are exposed to a lot of sexual content from social media. According to a study conducted by Durex Malaysia (online survey) in the month of April to May in 2022, it is not surprising that 60% of the respondents learned about sex by reading articles, viewing films and videos, while 62% had sex for the first time at age 22 years and under. The same study showed that 40% of young people feel pressured to engage in sexual activity, yet almost half (42%) do not use condoms or other birth control methods, which results in one in every 20 women experiencing an unwanted pregnancy. Concerns related to gender-based violence, sexual harassment, rape, mental health issues and domestic violence are a reflection that gender equality has failed to be achieved at the household level. With the arguments above, this community project intends to dismantle the implementation of sexual education in Mambau, Negeri Sembilan to assist each teen in understanding their own value.

OBJECTIVES

Our main objective is to achieve gender equality and empower teenage girls and boys to understand and respect their physical differences and make wise choices related to their rights and responsibilities by providing exposure to teenagers regarding gender equality based on scientific information that can encourage them to be responsible, ethical and respectful of others. 

Our main goal is to eliminate the hyper-sexualization of the word sex and everything related to it. The modules are carefully designed using social media platforms and the use of Virtual Reality (VR) simulation tools to equip teenagers of all ages with the confidence and resilience to make fact-based and scientifically informed decisions about their well-being and boundaries.

To create awareness to safeguard children from child marriages and unwanted pregnancies due to lack of knowledge, ultimately, teen pregnancy cases, baby dumping and underaged rape cases will be reduced. Young people, especially girls will be aware of their self-esteem, have the capacity to change social attitudes and norms, and build self-efficacy, which will lead to economic empowerment and development of the society. 

Helping underprivileged children to have opportunities to learn, gain knowledge about sexual issues and social issues. This platform aims to alleviate the stigma involving women empowerment and sexual education among the underprivileged due to their lack of capacity to receive good quality education and correct information about the topics. 

GESA MODULE

THEME 1 ICE BREAKING

ACTIVITY 1 : PAPER AIRPLANE

OBJECTIVE

• Creating a spirit of cooperation in the team.

• Improving the students' soft skills in terms of communicating in completing the game.

• Be able to guide students to self-harm and take the initiative to talk to each other to end the game quickly.

REFLECTION

• Students will know that this game will test their strength of mind and sensitivity.

• Students should also work well together in the group to complete the game. Through this game, we can see students who are active and passive in solving problems.

• Students should also act quickly as time will be calculated for the students to complete the task. Here, we can see group leaders manage their team members well as help them get to know and communicate well.

ACTIVITY 2 : BIG LOVE versus MINI LOVE

OBJECTIVE 

• Identify the language of love that students have.

• Ensure that students can know relevant personalities in order to better know themselves.

• To produce students who understand and empathize with each other to understand each other's perspectives

REFLECTION

Some important points that the facilitator should pay attention to :

• In this era of modernization, the language of love is especially important to pay attention to because each individual has a different language of love.

• Each language of love acquired indirectly will have an effect on the future.

• Teenagers need to know the language of their love as it is possible that the language of love can be a negative thing for teenagers.

ACTIVITY 3 : DRAMA OF THE WEEK (ROLEPLAY)

OBJECTIVE

• Creating a spirit of cooperation in the team.

• Encourage students to think critically in decision-making.

• Produce responsive properties in individuals.

REFLECTION

• Students can learn to be unanimous and give consensus in their decision-making and choices.

• Everyone has the right to give their own opinion to speak out so no one is right and wrong, but in the end only one decision can be chosen unanimously between groups.

REFLECTION FOR EXPERIENCE GOTTEN FROM THE ACTIVITIES.

THEME 2 BONDING

ACTIVITY 1 : 3G (GREAT WALL GAMES)

OBJECTIVE

• Study the level of knowledge of students on the issue of "safe touch and bad touch".

REFLECTION

• This toxic box game can give them an understanding of what is a situation that can be said to be a safe touch and bad touch as well as a good thing or otherwise from the question given.

• Through this activity students can strengthen their minds by giving insights in distinguishing what is bad touch and vice versa.

• It is clear that, with the moral values learned in this activity, it can be practiced by them to avoid social problems that lead to insecure touch.

ACTIVITY 2 : POV : WHAT SAY YOU? 

OBJECTIVE

• Giving enlightenment and brief advice to the students on "safe touch and bad touch".

REFLECTION

• It is important to form a noble personality in the children.

• Therefore, the activity of guesswork while this advice gives more enlightenment to the students especially on the issue of association so that they can maintain limits in social association.

In addition to this activity, educating children can strengthen the personality of the students as before doing something should think wisely.

REFLECTION FOR EXPERIENCE GOTTEN FROM THE ACTIVITIES.

THEME 3 EMPOWERING (USE VIRTUAL REALITY)

ACTIVITY 1 : GET TO KNOW THE BODY

OBJECTIVE

• Provide exposure to students regarding sensitive areas of the body.

REFLECTION

• Through this activity, students will be able to get to know their body and the parts of the body that should be protected.

ACTIVITY 2 : RECOGNIZE FEELINGS

OBJECTIVE

• Reveals the importance of recognizing your feelings.

REFLECTION

• Through this activity, students should be more aware of the circumstances in determining the actions and ways in which students react through reactions to a situation that is good and bad for themselves.

ACTIVITY 3 : PROTECT YOUSELF

OBJECTIVE

• Encourage participants to be more sensitive and responsive to how to protect themselves.

REFLECTION

• Students know about how to protect themselves using the NO-GO-TELL technique. Students can also be vigilant in the face of strangers.

• Students will know what to do if they are faced with or in a situation and be more alert to their surroundings.

• Through this activity, it is hoped that the students will be able to provide further exposure to the students on the importance of maintaining self-respect in order to avoid becoming a victim and become more sensitive to personal safety.

ACTIVITY 4 : OMG! WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?

OBJECTIVE

• Presenting situations to students through videos shown in the VR headset and asking them to choose a reaction to the video situation

• Presenting students the video consequences of each action chosen

REFLECTION

• Students learn and gain exposure on the reality of each situation through the consequences they chose in the VR Headset videos

• Students gain full exposure and can get closer experience to real life situations

• Students are able to learn the ways to react to a given circumstance

THEME 4 - SAFE GUARDING

ACTIVITY 1 : SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE

OBJECTIVE

• Students can find out what others see about them.

• Students can judge the bad good themselves.

• Students can find out the impact of social media on themselves.

REFLECTION

The description written on paper is a comment, while the name written is a post on social media.

• People will only judge based on what is seen without knowing the real thing. 

• Positive assessments can be taken as motivation for those who lack self-confidence.

• A negative assessment should be ignored as it is a comment written by those who do not know the individual.

• Any comments received on social media are not the right thing about a person because one only sees what is shown.

ACTIVITY 2 : PEER INFLUENCE

OBJECTIVE

• To teach students not to believe something without a motion check.

• To teach students not to spread information that they are not sure or authentic.

• Provide exposure to students so that they are more open to actions that lead to sexual harassment.

• Disclose to students the actions that should be taken when faced with unwanted situations (sexual harassment).

REFLECTION

• The simplest information can also change and get confused when it moves from one person to another.

• If you want to tell a story or convey something to someone, you need to make sure that it comes from an authentic source and isn't altered or manipulated.

IMPLEMENTATION OF 4 THEMES:

There are four (4) sessions to be implemented:

Project results will contribute to the following:

The degree of acceptance or behaviour during sexual education among teens in Malaysia

Development of a CSE for experiential learning for teenagers.

Increasing number of underprivilleged students will have the opportunity to follow through and learn more about sexuality and sex education. These mobile VR headset will be continuously used and enable the university to go to more schools and help even more school children to learn about sex education and gender equality in a more respectuful, interactive and impactful way. 

The module will teach adolescents to be able to understand their own bodies, boundaries and safety as well as how to understand their emotions.

The project can be integrated into the education system once fully practiced in SK and SMK Mambau.