My Starfish Foundation - Puberty with Dignity
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Puberty with Dignity

Helping the Underprivileged Community

Malaysia has no formal comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programme despite recording 51 underage pregnancies daily (amounting to more than 18,600 cases per year), without accounting those that go unrecorded. Data from the 2012 Global School-based Student Health Survey, along with the fact that 50.4% of respondents admitted to having sex before the age of 14, is shocking. The country has seen a corresponding increase in baby dumping, unsafe abortions and infanticide. Not even rape victims are protected in the aftermath of their trauma, with many married off to their rapists so the babies they bear may be ‘legitimate’. It is estimated that 39-45% of the fathers to teenage pregnancies are adult males, with 80% of these abusers being someone who was known to the victim and who groomed them for the purpose of sexual abuse, according to a 2015 report from the Royal Malaysian Police. Victims often did not know they’d been wronged. Here are the current statistics around underage sexual activities in Malaysia:1. Under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. It is an offence to have sex with teens below the age of 18. In Malaysia 7.3% of the teens have unknowingly committed this offence;2. A study from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) revealed that only 12% of respondents said they used condoms. Out of that 7.3 per cent, (21:11) had multiple sexual partners;3. An estimated three million girls aged 15 to 19 undergo unsafe abortions every year. Uncertified, underground, traditional abortions prone to further health risk and excruciating pain. And, worldwide, one in five girls have given birth by the age of 18. It has been reported that in Malaysia, an average of 18,000 teenagers get pregnant each year.Listed are the problems we addressed with the SPOT Programmes since 20151. Underage sexual activities;2. Child grooming (online and offline);3. Child sexual abuse (1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys in Malaysia have suffered some form of sexual abuse);4. Teenage pregnancy (51 girls fall pregnant everyday in Malaysia);5. Level of STI among young people.

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Goal: RM 1.00
Fund Approved by MSF: RM 1.00

Overview of Issue / Background

Malaysia has no formal comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programme despite recording 51 underage pregnancies daily (amounting to more than 18,600 cases per year), without accounting those that go unrecorded. Data from the 2012 Global School-based Student Health Survey, along with the fact that 50.4% of respondents admitted to having sex before the age of 14, is shocking. The country has seen a corresponding increase in baby dumping, unsafe abortions and infanticide. Not even rape victims are protected in the aftermath of their trauma, with many married off to their rapists so the babies they bear may be ‘legitimate’. It is estimated that 39-45% of the fathers to teenage pregnancies are adult males, with 80% of these abusers being someone who was known to the victim and who groomed them for the purpose of sexual abuse, according to a 2015 report from the Royal Malaysian Police. Victims often did not know they’d been wronged. Here are the current statistics around underage sexual activities in Malaysia:

1. Under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. It is an offence to have sex with teens below the age of 18. In Malaysia 7.3% of the teens have unknowingly committed this offence;

2. A study from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) revealed that only 12% of respondents said they used condoms. Out of that 7.3 per cent, (21:11) had multiple sexual partners;

3. An estimated three million girls aged 15 to 19 undergo unsafe abortions every year. Uncertified, underground, traditional abortions prone to further health risk and excruciating pain. And, worldwide, one in five girls have given birth by the age of 18. It has been reported that in Malaysia, an average of 18,000 teenagers get pregnant each year.

Listed are the problems we addressed with the SPOT Programmes since 2015

1. Underage sexual activities;

2. Child grooming (online and offline);

3. Child sexual abuse (1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys in Malaysia have suffered some form of sexual abuse);

4. Teenage pregnancy (51 girls fall pregnant everyday in Malaysia);

5. Level of STI among young people.

Project Objectives (Vision & Mission)

Puberty with Dignity is an interactive browser based storybook that allows the player to make decisions for the character while the character is going through puberty.

The objectives of this project are:

  • To provide young people with high quality and interactive learning in order to allow them to make informed decisions and navigate their expectations around puberty better
  • To provide proper education on puberty can seed a positive outlook regarding their relationship building skills, sexuality, health and wellbeing, sexual and reproductive health and safety, subsequently, to address the problems listed above
  • To contribute in creating awareness regarding puberty and to prepare them to go through those changes.

The mission of this project is working to inform and inspire 10,000 children, especially girls, by December 2021.

The SPOT vision is to help children, especially girls, become confident and resilient in making informed decisions for their well-being, now and for their future.

Project Details (Activities and Tasks)

Most of our activities will revolve around bringing the story to life which includes

  1. content creation and
  2. designing interactive graphics as well as
  3. developing the system that runs it.

Listed below are the activities and tasks that we will conduct in achieving the target set:

Content creation and website designing

  • The storyline and the content such as graphics, videos or clips will be produced and gathered to create interactive and fun contents on the website
  • Designing website based on the chosen host servers to create multiple webpages UIUX

Online and offline campaign

  • Creating the awareness of our project and website by campaigning through our social media to reach out to 100,000 online readers
  • Reaching out to our wide connection that comprises teachers, parents, working professionals in creating awareness of our project
  •  

Crowdfunding

  • Creating a donation drive on the website to collect funds for a book reading activities for 10,000 marginalized children
  • Selling activity books that complements the storybook through reward crowdfunding

Recruiting volunteers and trainers

  • Training the volunteers to be able to facilitate the activities and children at the SPOT workshop and book reading activities.
  • Recruiting volunteers as our focus group to identify the perceptions of user on our web app.
  • Recruit volunteers with a computer science background to better facilitate the making of the website.

Expected Project Result & Outcomes

In the long run, we aim

  • to increase the number of children with awareness of personal growth phase and physical as well as emotional changes during puberty.
  • to increase the number of children that are knowledgeable regarding puberty and are able to make informed decisions independently regarding their physical, emotional and reproductive health.
  • to provide quality education around puberty to 10,000 students who reside in marginalised areas through proper marketing and campaigning to drive the donations to support this cause.
  • to potentially reach out to 100,000 online readers by the end of 2021 and lift the stigma towards reproductive health and help debunk puberty myths by educating the target beneficiaries with scientifically accurate facts.

This project is necessary as it contributes to SDGs 3,4 and 5 directly and 5 more indirectly. It also contributes as an NGO grass root initiative to the governments’ agenda in

implementing sex education to help address the numbers of child sexual abuse, teen

pregnancies, underage sexual activities, underage STI, baby dumping, child marriage and

grooming. It helps contribute to international conventions by helping to provide education as a human right, advancing equality, advancing the status of women.

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Project Information

University name   :   UiTM
Project leader name   :   Adriana Izzati binti Abd Razak
Location of project held   :   Online
Beneficiary   :   Children as young as 9 years old

Section I

 

  1. Project Goal Summary

Puberty with Dignity is an interactive browser-based storybook that allows the player to make decisions for the character while the character is going through puberty.

The project is conducted to empower young people by:

    • Providing young people with high quality and interactive learning to allow them to make informed decisions and navigate their expectations around puberty better
    • Providing proper education on puberty can seed a positive outlook regarding their relationship building skills, sexuality, health and wellbeing, sexual and reproductive health, and safety, subsequently, to address the problems listed above
    • Contribute in creating awareness regarding puberty and to prepare them to go through those changes.

The mission of this project is working to inform and inspire 10,000 children, especially girls, by December 2022. In addition, we aim to help children, especially girls, become confident and resilient in making informed decisions for their well-being, now and for their future.

  1. Other Contributing Fundraising Effort
  2. Crowdfunding

In garnering more fund to create a purposeful and beneficial interactive web-app, our team has reach out to our supporters and believer of proper education regarding Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) from young age for all through social media. Through this initiative, our team has managed to crowdfund a total of RM 2,000.

In addition, KOA Fitness has crowdfunded our project to support our efforts. KOA Fitness has created a fitness virtual event in garnering the fund for this project. Through this effort, we have collected RM1,010.

  1. Partnership with Australian High CommissionIn creating a beneficial and purposeful web – app that aims to spread the knowledge of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) through the power of interactive storybook, we have established strategic partnership with The Australian High Commission Malaysia.
  2. Project Details
  3. Project difficulties
    • Implementation of web app – finding suitable platform to create a visual and interactivity of the web app
    • Testing the interactivity of the storyboard and the overall visual of the web – app to ensure that the delivery of the storybook’s content is maximised to our audience.
  1. Project Milestone
 
    • Volunteer Recruitment
      • Sponsors, volunteers and professionals has been employed for this project in order to better achieve the objective of this project in creating a meaningful and beneficial interactive website for young children to gain knowledge of Comprehensive Sexuality Education.

 

    • Content Creation
      • Content of the website is derived from SPOT Community’s modules and its copywriting is done by professionals to better relay the message while still maintaining the interactivity of the website.
      • The storyboard consists of two characters which are; Isaac and Sara in going through their puberty learning regarding puberty, peer pressure, self-love and online safety.
    • Website Designing
      • Implementation of the storyboard on WIX as Wix is a user and beginner friendly website host as to ensure sustainability of the project.
      • Transfer of knowledge from professionals to allow the volunteer to update the website
      • Currently, the mock-up website contains 161 pages.
    • Website Prototype Testing
      • The storyboard and the interactivity of the website is tested by our focus group consisting of 10 children age ranging from 9 years old to 12 years old.

 

  1. Project Expected Impact

We aim to provide our users, especially children with the knowledge and awareness to empower them to be educated about their physical, emotional, and reproductive health while going through puberty. Moreover, we aim to spread the knowledge to hone the skills to develop healthy relationships outside family and create open and respectful conversations regarding puberty.

  1. Project Impact and Sustainability

In the long run, we aim:

  • to increase the number of children with awareness of personal growth phase and physical as well as emotional changes during puberty.
  • to increase the number of children that are knowledgeable regarding puberty and are able to make informed decisions independently regarding their physical, emotional and reproductive health.
 
  • to provide quality education around puberty to 10,000 students who reside in marginalised areas through proper marketing and campaigning to drive the donations to support this cause.
  • to potentially reach out to 100,000 online readers by the end of 2022 and lift the stigma towards reproductive health and help debunk puberty myths by educating the target beneficiaries with scientifically accurate facts.

This project is necessary as it contributes to SDGs 3,4 and 5 directly and 5 more indirectly. It also contributes as an NGO grass root initiative to the governments’ agenda in implementing sex education to help address the numbers of child sexual abuse, teen pregnancies, underage sexual activities, underage STI, baby dumping, child marriage and grooming. It helps contribute to international conventions by helping to provide education as a human right, advancing equality, advancing the status of women.

Section II

A 2011 study comparing PEERS against UNESCO's International Technical Guidance of Sexuality Education (ITGSE) syllabus by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia stated “90% of the respondents agree that sex education has not been taught in Malaysians schools and the informal information given by most of the teachers is vague”. Thus, we believe that making knowledge regarding Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) available at the tip of the finger alongside following the trend of digitising education is important.

Puberty with Dignity is a browser based interactive storybook that allows the reader to gain insight on a person’s puberty journey. Creating and giving access to children, especially girls, to comprehensive and age-responsive information, to be able to make free and informed decisions and choices about their sexuality and reproductive lives to facilitate a safe transition into adulthood. This project aims to induce that by first providing the youngsters with high quality and interactive learning tool to help them to be more prepared to go through their puberty with dignity by managing themselves and their expectations better.