Research question: How do intersectional identities influence experiences of school-delivered sex education among youth living in Hamilton and Niagara Falls school districts?

The purpose of this youth-led research is to understand how young people’s intersectional identities influence their experiences of school-delivered sex education among youth living in Hamilton and Niagara Falls regions. We aim explore the perceptions of sexual education curriculum among youth and examine how different aspects of a youth’s identity may or may not impact their experience with sexual education. We hope to raise awareness towards the importance of hearing, analyzing, and centering the voices of youth when it comes to their education and sexual health journeys by ensuring that the needs of diverse youth are acknowledged and addressed within their sexual health education. Additionally, we hope that these findings can be used to advocate for changes to the sexual education curriculum to better address the needs and priorities of young people.

Method: Interviews

Participants: youth, aged 13-18 years old, living in the Hamilton or Niagara region, and either has completed at least one high school health/sexual education class in Ontario (e.g. perhaps they moved from another area outside of Hamilton or Niagara and took it there) or is in the process of completing one high school health/sexual education class in the Hamilton or Niagara region