SSexuality and mental health
Sexuality is often reduced to the concept of sex. However, a lack of sexual attraction is also a form of sexuality. Beneath this concept lie a range of important issues that shape our lives in relationships with others. In times of mental health crisis, especially among young people, sexual education helps to create the foundations for a healthy psyche by conveying positive patterns of behaviour. What's more, it's a lifelong project.
A comprehensive approach to sexuality – included, among others, in the curriculum of Irish primary and secondary schools – shifts the focus from sexual health to issues such as mutual respect in a relationship, partnership, nurturing and expressing emotional needs, and respecting boundaries, not just physical ones. Acceptance of diverse gender identities and how gender is expressed comes next...
