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Embracing teen sexuality: Teenagers’

assessment of sexuality education in Uganda
Florence Kyoheirwe Muhanguzi & Anna Ninsiima

Available online: 19 Oct 2011

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Teenagers’ assessment of sexuality education in Uganda, Agenda: Empowering women for gender equity,
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 article
Embracing teen sexuality: Teenagers’
assessment of sexuality education in
Uganda
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Florence Kyoheirwe Muhanguzi and Anna Ninsiima

abstract
Scholars in the related literature show that sexuality education contributes to positive sexual outcomes among
teenagers, including reduction in risky sexual behaviour, construction of positive images of responsible
behaviour, and reduced rates of sexual abuse and unplanned teenage pregnancies. Other benefits include
increased contraceptive use and greater confidence in negotiating sexual encounters and self-esteem. In Uganda
there is evidence that teenagers are increasingly engaging in risky sexual behaviours, as shown by high rates of
sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS among this age group and high rate of unplanned teenage
pregnancies, an indicator of limited sexual knowledge about their developing sexuality. Drawing on in-depth
interviews and focus group discussions with teenagers, teachers and parents, the article examines the extent to
which sexuality knowledge drawn from home and school address teenagers’ lived sexual experiences. It is
evident that the education offered is inadequate, largely prescriptive and feminised, generally divorced from
teenagers’ personal experiences, and sometimes even contradictory. The article illuminates the need for a
rigorous re-examination of the current sexuality learning resources and advocates an empowerment approach
that integrates considerations of gender dynamics throughout the teaching of sexuality matters to address both
boys’ and girls’ sexual needs.

keywords
teenage sexuality, teenage pregnancy, gender, sexuality education, Uganda

Introduction pregnancies and subsequent negative con-

Sexuality is part and parcel of teenage life
experiences, characterised by intense sex-
ual desires, experimentation, the quest for
independence from adults and risk-taking
as they attempt to understand the self as
either feminine or masculine (Seifert &
Hoffnurg, 1987). As teenage boys and girls
attempt to conform to the respective and
different ideals of masculinity and feminin-
ity, they are exposed to risks, such as
contracting sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs) (including HIV and AIDS), teenage
sequences, including abortion and death
(Olsen et al., 1992; O’Donnel et al., 2007).
Within the African region there is in-
creasing evidence that teenagers are enga-
ging in risky sexual behaviours. This is
shown by increasingly high levels of early
and unsafe sexual activity among young
people that often starts in their early teen-
age life (Niehaus, 2000). Vergnani and Elzan
(1998) note that by the age of 20 years, at
least 80% of the youth in sub-Saharan Africa
are sexually experienced. In Uganda, half of

Agenda 89/25.3 2011

ISSN 1013-0950 print/ISSN 2158-978X online
– 2011 F.K. Muhanguzi and A. Ninsiima
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2011.610987 pp. 54
63

the women give birth by the age of 19 years,
and the median age at first intercourse is
16.6 years for females and 18 years for
males (Uganda Bureau of Statistics
(UBOS) and Macro International Inc.,
2007). Studies show gender differences in
sexual experiences, where premarital sex-
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ual activity with multiple and casual part-
ners is more prevalent among males than
females. In addition, evidence indicates that
in many parts of Africa teenage girls are
more vulnerable (Maticka-Tyndale et al.,
2005; Jacubowski, 2008), and are five to
six times more likely to be infected by the
HIV virus than boys of their age (UNAIDS,
2008). In Uganda young girls are three times
more likely to be infected than boys (Minis-
try of Health Uganda and ORC Macro, 2006).
Increasing cases of sexuality-related
problems among teenagers are attributed
to a lack of sexuality knowledge and skills.
Sexuality education has become an ac-
cepted part of the response to the increasing
incidences of sexuality-related challenges
among teenagers. Evidence from the West
(Hedgepeth & Helmich, 1996; Hedgepeth,
2000; Epstein & Johnson, 1998) and Africa
(Grunsiet & Aggleton, 1998; Neema et al.,
2004) shows that sexuality education has
positive outcomes, including declines in
risky sexual behaviour, the construction of
useful images of responsible behaviour,
lower rates of sexual abuse, lower rates of
teenage pregnancies and STDs, an increase
in students’ knowledge about sexuality and
tolerance of the views of others, increase in
contraceptive use, reduction of anxieties
associated with the process of growth and
development during adolescence, delays in
onset of sexual activity, and greater confi-
dence in negotiating sexual encounters and
self-esteem.
World-wide, there are diverse sources of
sexuality knowledge, including informal1
and formal educational sources. In Ugan-
da’s formal education curriculum, sexuality
issues are taught within the pre-existing
courses2 including Christian Religious Edu-
cation, Islamic Religious Education, and
Biology (Uganda National Examination
Board, 2001). Some schools also offer sub-
jects such as Social Etiquette and Moral
Education (which are optional and not ex-
amined) which address sexuality matters.
Although the different subjects hold differ-
ent theoretical perspectives or approaches,
article
each makes a contribution to the broad
discourse of sexuality education.
The purpose of this article is to illumi-
nate the importance of providing accurate,
balanced, comprehensive, relevant, gender-
responsive sexuality education designed
around girls’ and boys’ lived experiences.
It begins by examining the extent to which
sexuality knowledge obtained from parents
and teachers addresses teenagers’ lived
gendered sexual experiences. We discuss
teenagers’ assessment of the content and
pedagogical practices. Lastly, we provide
some suggestions for sexuality education
that would be of value to teenage girls and
boys in the development of their sexual and
gender identities. While there are a wide
range of sources of sexuality knowledge for
teenagers, this article focuses on parents
and teachers as some of the key potential
sources of sexuality education and support
for teenagers.
Methods and context
The article is drawn from a PhD study on the
gender dynamics in sexuality education in
Uganda’s secondary schools conducted be-
tween 2003 and 2004 in Wakiso district, and
funded by Makerere University under the
Research Capacity Building programme.
The PhD research broadly explored the
operation of gender dynamics in school
sexuality education through an interroga-
tion of the interaction between contempor-
ary curriculum-based ideas of sexuality
education in Uganda and the gendered
realities of key participants in the pedago-
gical process, namely the teenagers, tea-
chers and parents.
Data were collected from seven ran-
domly selected secondary schools, of which
five were co-educational and 2 were single-
sex (one for boys and another for girls). One
of the schools was an Islamic co-educa-
tional school. Using the class registers of all
teenagers in the third and fourth years of
ordinary secondary education, stratified and
systematic random sampling were em-
ployed to select a total of 55 teenagers, of
whom 27 were males and 28 females, to
participate in the interviews. Using the
same registers and sampling strategy, stu-
dents not selected for the interviews formed
another sampling frame, from which 8
10
Embracing teen sexuality 55
 article
students (for boys and girls) in each of the
selected schools were selected to partici-
pate in focus group discussions (FGDs).
Overall, a total of 129 (65 boys and 64 girls)
participated in FGDs. The interviewed teen-
agers were not married and were aged
between 15 and 19 years.
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With the help of the local leaders in the
communities in which the study schools
were located, five FGDs of 9
10 parents
who had teenagers attending secondary
school (some of whom were in the study
schools) were conducted. A total of 49
parents (24 males and 25 females) partici-
pated. In all the study schools, a total of 24
purposively selected teachers (10 males and
24 females)3 were interviewed. A total of six
FGDs (one in each of the six selected
schools) comprising 8
10 teachers each
were conducted, involving a total of 23
female and 29 male teachers. There are
generally fewer numbers of female teachers
in secondary schools in Uganda
77.7% of
the teachers are male (UBOS, 2010).
The study was largely qualitative, invol-
ving multiple methods including in-depth
interviews, FGDs and observation of lessons
in which sexuality issues were taught. A
qualitative research approach provided an
in-depth understanding of the teenagers’
sexual experiences and their views about
the discourse of sexuality, and helped in
locating the interpretations girls and boys
placed on the sexual knowledge obtained
from parents and teachers and connecting
these meanings to the social world around
them (Miles & Herberman 1994). Use of
multiple methods offered the opportunity
for triangulation, in particular ensuring
validity and reliability of qualitative meth-
odologies (Miles & Herberman 1994; Cohen
et al., 2000). This provided for trustworthi-
ness of the qualitative data and helped to
corroborate the data yielded from the differ-
ent methods. Reliability of the interview
schedules was ensured through pilot testing,
after which question items were modified.
Due to the sensitive nature of the re-
search, two female (the authors) and two
male graduate researchers in their early 20s
conducted the interviews and FGDs with
female and male students separately. The
FGDs for teachers and parents were mixed
sex and were conducted by two research-
ers, a female and a male. Respondents’
consent to be interviewed and recorded
56 AGENDA 89/25.3 2011
was sought and they were assured of con-
fidentiality before commencement. This
strategy helped ensure rapport with and
trust and confidence among the respon-
dents.
All of the tape-recorded interviews and
FGDs were transcribed (verbatim) and ana-
lysed using template analysis (King, 1998)
through the use of an analysis guide or
codebook (Crabtree & Miller, 1992). Analy-
sis of the different sets of data was done
separately, identifying emerging themes,
and they were compared through triangula-
tion to identify common experiences
among respondents (male vs female; fe-
male vs female and male vs male) as well as
the individual unique experiences. Frequen-
cies and percentages were computed from
the emerging patterns and themes in the in-
depth interviews on teenagers’ assessment
of sexuality knowledge (content coverage
and the pedagogical process). Text analysis
of individual interviews and FGD material
provided a deeper understanding of the
teenagers’ interpretation of the knowledge
acquired vis à vis their lived sexual experi-
ences.
The findings
Teenagers’ assessment of the
usefulness of sexuality knowledge
The study revealed that all teenagers appre-
ciated the sexual information obtained from
either the parents or the school. There were
gender differences in the teenagers’ opi-
nions about the usefulness of the informa-
tion. In the interviews, a larger proportion of
boys (70.3%) than girls (64.6%) indicated
that the acquired sexual knowledge helped
them to know how to protect themselves
against the dangers of early sex, especially
prevention of diseases such as STDs/HIV
and AIDS and pregnancy, as well as making
the right decisions
‘‘as they are taught to
abstain from sex until they are married’’.
Sixty per cent of the girls and 55.3% of the
boys appreciated being taught about their
bodies and the changes that occur, which
had given them confidence in handling
situations such as menstruation (girls) and
controlling their sexual feelings, interaction
with the opposite sex and abortion (boys).
Some boys (11%) welcomed knowledge

about girls’ bodies. In addition, more boys
(41%) than girls (32%) valued the informa-
tion for enabling them to pass examina-
tions.
While 45% of the girls appreciated
knowledge about family planning, a greater
proportion of boys than girls noted that
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information about expected behaviours/
morals in society and personal skills such
as responsibility, respect for others and self
had been useful in their lives. Other issues
cited by a number of teenagers related to
having a better future (17.5% of girls; 38% of
boys); protection against sexual violence

rape and defilement (13.4% of girls) and
peer pressure (13.4% of girls; 11% of boys).
A few boys and girls mentioned that they
gained knowledge about hygiene and living
with other people, including those infected
with HIV and AIDS. While similar views
were voiced in the FGDs, the discussions
provided more in-depth exploration of prac-
tical application of the information to teen-
agers.
Girls acknowledged the significant role
of Social Etiquette lessons as a substitute
for the cultural socialisation of boys and
girls in the home, particularly for those
whose parents are busy and never get
time to talk to them. Although boys also
expressed having gained confidence from
the Social Etiquette lessons, their gain was
associated with pubic speaking while that of
girls was mainly associated with accepting
their position in society and keeping their
‘dignity’ as women. The FGDs indicated that
both boys and girls appreciated the current
and expected future use of the knowledge
they gained about family planning.
Teenagers, especially boys, admitted
their high interest in sex and therefore
found the information very helpful as re-
gards prevention and making informed
decisions about their sexuality. They parti-
cularly appreciated information about safe
days, use of condoms and hygiene. Teen-
agers in the FGDs also pointed out that the
knowledge from Social Etiquette helped
them to be aware of how to plan for their
future families/marriage and their relations
with the opposite sex, and expected beha-
viours in society, as well as assisting them
to gain confidence and communication
skills. In spite of acknowledgement of the
usefulness of the information, teenagers
contested the material.
article
Teenagers’ contestation of the
sexual knowledge
While all the teenagers acknowledged the
value of sexual information, they critiqued
the material. The majority of the girls and
boys described the information received
from parents as sketchy, authoritarian and
prescriptive, couched in almost entirely
negative terms such as ‘‘Don’t do this,
don’t do that, don’ts only’’. Most boys and
girls theorised their parents’ fear of sexual
information’s capacity to ‘contaminate’
them, which most of the parents in the
FGDs viewed as ‘awakening a sleeping
dog’. About 90% of the male teenagers
reported that parents’ involvement in sexu-
ality education only came about when there
was a problem, an approach they disap-
proved of.
Teenagers’ views were supported by the
parents’ acknowledgement that their talks
or discussions about sexuality were often
prompted by a precipitating event, usually a
crisis such as a child being suspected to
have been involved in some sex-related
activity or occurrence of a premarital preg-
nancy or death from HIV and AIDS in the
neighbourhood. Parents’ views indicated
that such interactions with the children
were usually tense and took the form of
angry orders, verbal abuse or physical con-
frontations.
There was a remarkable concern about
teachers’ censorship of information. Most
of the interviewed teenagers asserted that
teachers mainly focused on the biological
aspects of sexuality and gave more of the
restrictive, protective/preventive material
about sexuality, with either little or no
information about safety measures such as
condom use, birth control and interaction
with the opposite sex. Some teenagers,
especially boys, commented that the mate-
rial presented was often brief, plain and
familiar. Most boys were concerned about
teachers’ omission of issues which they
described as ‘‘the hard stuff’’, particularly
the meaning of sex.
Boys’ concern over teachers’ censorship
of the information was confirmed by most
of the girls. They noted that teachers did not
give details, but instead rushed through the
lessons because of the perception that teen-
agers would get ‘spoilt’. Some girls noted
Embracing teen sexuality 57
 article
that at times the information was too ab-
stract and difficult for students to grasp.
Most of the girls noted the teachers’
reluctance to discuss issues in their interest,
especially those concerning marriage, such
as elongation of the female external genita-
lia (labia minora), commonly known as
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‘‘visiting the bush’’, the local management
of female odour, how to make successful
marriages and good sexual partners, hand-
ling proposals from men/boys, qualities of a
good partner, and family life. In all the FGDs
with girls, the meaning of pulling of the
vaginal labia minora and desire for more
information about the practice was a con-
sistent question at the end of the discus-
sions. According to these girls, this practice
was an important aspect of their success in
marriage and a cultural requirement for
girls before getting married. A few girls in
the FGDs noted that subjects like CRE and
Social Etiquette offered gender stereotypic
information, in particular the unequal
power relations stressed by the knowledge
gained from the lessons, which they felt
was unfair.
Some girls and boys indicated appre-
hension about contradicting messages,
particularly regarding safer sex practices
and the right time to have sex
Most boys and girls noted that while
schools and parents did not encourage
condom use, outside sources such as the
media and friends encouraged their use.
They further reported that some teachers
advised them that it was fine to engage in
sex after the age of 18 years, while others
told them to wait until marriage. Concern
about the right time for young people to
engage in sexual relationships was a recur-
rent question at the end of every interview
and FGD.
Most girls in the FGDs were concerned
about the feminisation of sexuality educa-
tion through an exclusive focus on female
sexuality matters. They expressed anxiety
about the implications of such an unba-
lanced and narrow focus, such as boys
teasing and harassing the girls. The girls
stressed that sexuality issues should be a
concern for all genders because boys are
‘‘part and parcel of the problems’’. They
noted that sharing information promotes
tolerance, a positive image, interaction and
58 AGENDA 89/25.3 2011
relationships among boys and girls. They
indicated that the knowledge and apprecia-
tion of each others’ sexuality problems
across gender required equal attention to
be paid to girls and boys. The girls felt that
the unbalanced focus on girls’ sexuality
problems exacerbated a false emphasis on
the complexity and particularity of girls’
experiences, and gave boys the false inter-
pretation that ‘the things concerning sex are
mostly in women’, as noted by some of the
boys.
Similar views about feminisation of
sexuality were echoed by some female
teachers, who said that too much focus is
given to the girls, especially regarding sub-
missiveness, body changes and hygiene,
forgetting that boys too have sexuality con-
cerns and need to be taught how to be
responsible and respectful husbands and
men in society. According to these teachers,
the tendency to overemphasise girls’ sexu-
ality rather than boys’ reinforces male dom-
inance as well as male denigration of female
bodies and is one of the major causes of
the increasing incidences of gender-based
violence and separation in homes.
Across different schools, there was a
tendency to conduct regular and frequent
meetings outside the official curriculum
lessons exclusively for girls. The parents
acknowledged that boys received much less
family education and guidance about their
sexuality and how to deal with the anxieties
caused by changes in their bodies. Most
parents (mothers and fathers) indicated that
boys tend to learn much of what they know
about sexuality from other sources, particu-
larly from friends.
Most teenagers acknowledged teachers’
difficulty in integrating academic material
with contemporary social issues. Conse-
quently, most of the interviewed teenagers
(96% of the girls and 94% of the boys)
described the teaching as ‘‘theoretical’’ and
exam-oriented, and not offering any practi-
cal guidelines or examples. Indeed, as testi-
fied by most of the boys (81.5%) and girls
(71.4%) as well as the teachers, lecturing
was the main method of delivery of sexual
information, with minimal discussions (as
reported by 28.6% of the girls and 18.5%
of the boys). Only 0.4% of the girls and
0.6% of the boys said that the methods
used were appropriate and helped them to
relate the facts to their life experiences.

Both male and female teenagers’ inter-
pretations of the lessons as being ‘‘theore-
tical’’ were mainly associated with the
teachers’ limited use of practical methods
such as illustrations, real-life experiences/
testimonies, case studies and audiovisual
aids such as films, videos, pictures and
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plays, as well as interactive methods. Inter-
active methods could include group discus-
sions in which sharing of experiences can
be used as a testing ground for new in-
formation and having ‘hands-on’ experi-
ence, which according to the girls provides
opportunities to ‘‘really ask everything that
you need to ask, share experiences . . . be
able to learn from each other’s experience’’.
Girls observed that the use of such methods
would present the information more clearly
than just talking. They were concerned
about the teachers’ failure to relate the
information to current events.
The views held by the boys and girls
indicate that teachers’ main concern - that
of passing exams - provided little room for
meaningful student dialogue with the pre-
sented information. Consequently, teen-
agers felt that in-class material was to just
help them attain high grades and thus ‘‘for
examination purposes’’, ‘‘an academic
study’’, ‘‘just book material’’, and may not
be applicable to their daily lives. Similar
views were echoed in the boys’ and girls’
FGDs. However, teenagers’ accounts -
especially those of the boys - revealed their
awareness of the complexity of demonstra-
tion of sexuality issues in a classroom
environment, such that ‘‘sometimes you
are telling people how to use a condom
and you use your finger to demonstrate.
Some people will take it that you have to
put it on your finger if you are going to have
sex and it won’t help.’’
Male teenagers noted that in spite of the
knowledge gained, girls still get pregnant or
abort, and some of their fellow teenagers
were involved in sexual relationships
(‘‘casual’’ and ‘‘deep’’, platonic and non-
platonic, single and multiple sexual rela-
tionships) in and outside the school. Similar
views were given by most of the girls. Some
boys and girls expressed that being in-
volved in sexual intercourse at their age
had some advantages such as pleasure,
gaining experience and preparation for
marriage.
article
Discussion
The study uncovered complex contradic-
tions as to the usefulness and practical
application of the sexual knowledge ob-
tained from school. In spite of students’
disparagement of the sexual information
they received from class and parents, teen-
agers were unanimous in considering sexu-
ality education as being valuable. They saw
sexuality education as an opportunity for
both sexual and intellectual empowerment,
such as ‘‘Knowing about our bodies and the
body changes, prevention of disease, STDs,
HIV and AIDS and pregnancy, live healthy
lives and passing examinations’’.
The weight and relevance of sexuality
information acquired differed along gender
lines. The teenagers, especially the girls,
appreciated information about the body
changes as it enhanced their confidence
and self-esteem, which reduced anxieties
caused by experiences such as menstrua-
tion, and growing breasts and pubic hair.
They acknowledged that knowledge about
sexuality enabled both boys and girls to
make informed choices about their sexuality
and how to respond to body changes as they
arise.
Girls’ acknowledgment of the power of
knowledge in addressing sexual exploitation
and vulnerability suggests that the informa-
tion they received, although not comprehen-
sive, was more useful than not having any
information at all. The overarching ‘value’ of
the information as protection, which is
embedded in all the curricular messages,
suggests the sense of danger associated
with sexuality. It is precisely this sense of
‘protection’ that was noted by the girls as
valuable. This points to the gendered co-
operation between the girls’ concerns and
the orientation of the curriculum. Differing
interests of male and female students illus-
trate gendered orientations to sexuality in-
formation, orientations constructed within
the curriculum itself and reflected in teen-
agers’ own uptake of the material. Students’
gendered knowledge interests have been
recorded in the north by Halstead and
Waite’s (2001) study on gender differences
in developing sexual values and attitudes.
Despite the overarching value of sexual-
ity education for boys and girls, they heavily
contested the material. Their contestation of
the given knowledge involves the content
Embracing teen sexuality 59
 article
details, the teaching strategies and the ways
in which educators, especially teachers,
related the material to the teenagers’ lived
realities. The study reveals students’ aware-
ness of the underlying dominant ideologies
that structure their lessons about sexuality,
in which a narrow range of topics is dis-
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cussed and overt and covert moral values
are transmitted within the context of pre-
scription. The official prescriptions about
sexuality information at school and at
home (by parents) operate with an almost
uniform commitment to heterosexuality,
procreation and abstinence before marriage.
These encounters were described as being
‘‘under-resourced’’ ‘‘one-sided-feminised’’
‘‘authoritarian’’, ‘‘theoretical’’, and ‘‘pre-
scriptive’’, but also as shaped by protective
discourses that stress sexuality as a danger
and risk, especially for the girls.
Teenagers, especially boys, were con-
cerned about the parents’ approach (espe-
cially fathers) to sexuality education, that
was mainly triggered by events related to
perceived vulnerability and their heavy re-
liance on scare tactics (‘fear-based curricu-
la’) to exclusively promote chastity and
avoidance of all sexual activity until mar-
riage, especially for the girls. These findings
are consistent with those from the north by
Allen (2009), in which young people pre-
ferred non-judgmental, non-authoritative
sexuality educators, who are not out of
touch with teenagers’ realities.
The protective and prescriptive frame-
work that informs sexuality education was
associated with beliefs that education about
sex either ‘‘corrupts’’ (‘‘contaminates’’) in-
nocent children or promotes sexual beha-
viour and experimentation, rather than
positively enhancing young people’s ability
to manage their sexual lives. Studies in
Africa by Rivers and Aggleton (1999);
Pattman and Chege (2003) and Parikh
(2005), and in the north by Renold (2005),
also noted misconceptions among many
individuals about the negative impact of
sexuality education (such as promoting
promiscuity and immorality).
Although such construction of sexuality
is an explicit recognition of teenagers as
sexual beings, it underplays their lived
realities. Teenagers’ reported engagement
in sexual encounters, and the value that
some of them put on the need to engage in
sexual liaisons at their age suggests that
60 AGENDA 89/25.3 2011
education that exclusively emphasises ab-
stinence and the dangers of premarital sex-
the ‘plumbing and prevention approach’
(Lenskyj, 1990) - such as those within the
school system and at home, may not ade-
quately address student realities.
Teenagers were concerned about tea-
chers’ censorship of information and their
limited coverage of what they called ‘‘the
hard stuff’’, safer sex practices, and their
neglect of the meaning of sex and of other
issues such as family/marriage, personal
hygiene and pulling of the vagina labia
minora, which according to the girls deter-
mined their success in marriage. In Uganda
girls are encouraged to elongate the labia
(pulling), a valued aspect of becoming a
sexual woman and ‘good’ sexual partner, a
practice that has been silently adopted by
many women in many tribes in the country
(Kinsman et al., 2000; Parikh, 2005).
Girls were particularly concerned about
the coded warnings of the threat of preg-
nancy and hygiene, which were selectively
given out to the girls but not to boys. Such
feminised approaches were said not only to
cause boys’ to treat key sexuality issues as
‘girls stuff’, but also led to consequent lack
of shared responsibility in sexuality. Scho-
lars from the north (Allen, 1987; Hilton,
2001) also point to the idea that boys’
sexuality receives little attention. Hilton
(2001) in particular notes that parents ap-
pear to have more concern for protecting
their daughters, and concentrate far less on
boys’ needs. Our study supplements other
studies from the north (Power, 1995) which
have noted that feminisation of sexuality
information leads to boys’ disregard of
sexuality knowledge; boys ignore girls’ ex-
periences and also harass the girls.
Teenagers’ apparent concern over the
contradictory massages put across, particu-
larly regarding the appropriate age for sex-
ual debut and safe sex practices, is
indicative of the lack of clarity in the in-
formation gleaned from the various
sources, particularly on issues of abstinence
vis à vis use of safer sex practices. This
suggests that the current sexual knowledge
gleaned from the classroom and at home
does not respond to teenagers’ lived experi-
ences - and therefore becomes at one level
irrelevant.

Teenagers’ responses on the assess-
ment of in-class and outside-class informa-
tion, particularly on the teaching strategies
and sexuality education content, have im-
plications for teacher training and curricu-
lum review. By criticising the conventional
sexuality lessons, the teenagers are challen-
Downloaded by [INASP - Uganda (PERI)], [Florence Kyoheirwe Muhanguzi] at 01:23 27 February 2012
ging the structures and practices involved in
the ‘desexualisation’ of daily lives (Mac an
Ghaill, 1994). Hence, approaches to provid-
ing appropriate sexuality education must
derive from the teenagers’ lived experi-
ences. There is a need to look at sexuality
education through new conceptual lenses,
questioning the current norms, strategies,
attitudes, beliefs, overt messages and ped-
agogical practices in an attempt to create
equal opportunities for girls and boys - a
need for what Noddings (1986) called a
‘caring community’.
Following concerns raised by the boys
and girls about the limited relevant knowl-
edge they are obtaining from home and at
school, we would like to make some sug-
gestions on some good pedagogical prac-
tices that could be useful for sexuality
education in Uganda:
 Given the teenagers’ gendered con-
cerns over content details, there is need
to focus on the broad knowledge about
human sexuality and family living, as
recommended by SIECUS (1996), with
a consideration of the gendered knowl-
edge interests. The study reveal diverse
and gendered constructions within the
meaning of sexuality education, and
points to the fact that sexuality educa-
tion should encompass gender analy-
sis within human/body development
issues, relationships, personal skills,
sexual behaviour, sexual health, and
discussion of socio-cultural issues.
 It became clear that an approach that
engages student-centred pedagogy
with an understanding of the gendered
discourses and practices within sexu-
ality education is necessary. Teenagers’
apprehension about the pedagogical
practices and their expressed need for
‘balanced’ coverage of sexuality issues
suggests the call for a participatory
and/or interactive approach, that gives
students space to generate knowledge,
acknowledge diversity of knowledge,
and plan to address the realities of their
sexuality (as suggested by Mirembe,
article
2002, in her study on ‘AIDS and Demo-
cratic Education in Uganda’).
 We thus call for adoption of an
empowerment approach that prioritises
participation and individual responsibil-
ity for learning, alongside approaches
that challenge gender discrimination.
This allows for a less prescriptive or
proscriptive stance, and suggests the
possibility of individuals being ‘empow-
ered’ to make a range of sexual choices
(Thorogood, 2000). Feminist pedagogy,
a student-centred and gender-sensitive
approach that involves attempts to lis-
ten to teenagers (Vertinky, 1995), works
better. Such a dynamic approach has
been supported by other scholars such
Pattman and Chege (2003) and Gougeon
(2009). The approach should be proac-
tive and engage with life experiences,
case studies, audiovisual aids, role
plays/drama and demonstrations, an
approach the Ugandan teenagers de-
scribed as being ‘‘practical’’.
 The study indicates that within educa-
tional environments, there is acknowl-
edgement of the importance of giving
equal attention to both boys’ and girls’
sexuality, although in practice parents
and teachers place greater emphasis on
girls’ sexuality. The need to target boys
and girls arose out of the realisation
that both children are vulnerable to
sexuality-related problems and experi-
ence anxiety-provoking body changes.
To some extent, parents and teachers
acknowledged that boys’ sexuality af-
fects girls’ sexuality and vice versa;
thus focus on one gender reinforces
the inequalities. This finding concurs
with McFadden’s (1992) and Giddens’
(1992) argument that sexuality is inti-
mately linked to gender relations. For
gender equality and equity to be at-
tained, the focus on the gendered con-
structions of boys’ and girls’ sexuality
is fundamental, particularly in addres-
sing issues of power relations.
According to Wolpe et al. (1997), it is
essential that boys and girls understand
the underlying meanings and social con-
structions that characterise the normative
notions of masculinity and femininity.
Such an understanding may perhaps begin
to address some of teenagers’ sexuality
problems.
Embracing teen sexuality 61
 article
Notes
1. Informal sources of sexuality knowledge for
teenagers include the media (TV, Radio, internet,
newspapers), reading materials (books, maga-
zines and novels), parents and other relatives,
peers (friends) and other resource persons from
either government or non government organiza-
tions and religious fora (church, youth confer-
Downloaded by [INASP - Uganda (PERI)], [Florence Kyoheirwe Muhanguzi] at 01:23 27 February 2012
ences and seminars, Mosque).
2. These courses are examined and contribute to
the attainment of the Uganda Ordinary Certificate
of Education (UCE).
3. These involved the senior women and men
teachers, the subject teachers of Biology, Chris-
tian Religious Education, Islamic Religious Edu-
cation, Social Etiquette and moral education,
patrons of health/HIV and AIDS clubs and ma-
trons.
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FLORENCE KYOHEIRWE MUHANGUZI holds a PhD and is currently

teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the
School of Women and Gender Studies, College of Humanities and
Social Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Her areas of
interest and specialisation include gender, health and sexuality,
population and development, gender-focused research, masculinity
and development and feminist perspectives of sustainable develop-
ment. She has undertaken a number of studies in the area of gender,
sexuality, poverty and education, and is a gender trainer and activist
actively participating in NGO work to improve the status of women,
girls and boys. Email: fmuhanguzi@ss.mak.ac.ug

ANNA B. NINSIIMA has an MA in Gender and Governance and is

currently teaching at the School of Women and Gender Studies,
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Makerere University,
Kampala, Uganda. Her areas of interest are gender and governance,
the role of government institutions in providing social services, poverty
reduction and dealing with gender-based violence, plus the question
of women empowerment and justice in national development. Public
policy analysis and advocacy is another field that appeals to her.
Email: aninsiima@ss.mak.ac.ug

Embracing teen sexuality 63