Adolescent Sexual and

Reproductive Health Training

for Teachers
INTRODUCTION 3
Brief introduction of Roots of Health 3
Why this training? 3
Ground rules 3

STATISTICAL DATA (NUMBERS DON’T LIE) 4

DAISY SAIS 4

ADOLESCENT SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: VALUES CLARIFICATION

EXERCISE 7
Frequently Raised Topics: 9
Why is it important to talk with teens about sexuality and RH? 9
Will taking about sex make teens want to have sex? 9
When is the right time to talk with teens about sex? 9
What RH information should be given to teens? 9
Abstinence and Contraception 10
Misconceptions About Sex Education 10
Teaching sex education will increase sexual activity among teenagers. 10
Teaching sex ed goes against the beliefs of the church. 11
Sex Ed should not be a mandatory class. 11
Comprehensive Sexuality Education disregards values and morals. 11

ACTION PLAN - BE AN ALLY 12

CONCLUSION 13

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INTRODUCTION

Brief introduction of Roots of Health

● Mission, vision, what we do
● What we do in schools - explain modules
○ Empathy/bullying for grades 5-6
○ Puberty for grades 7-8 , reproductive health for grades 9/10, HIV and
reproductive health for grades 11/12)

Why this training?

We believe in age-appropriate, evidence-based, and non-judgmental sex education.

We aim to make the topic less scary and uncomfortable for all involved. We hope
that this training will give teachers a foundation from which to be able to talk openly
and honestly with their students about sexuality and sexual health education in
schools.

Further, the provision of comprehensive sexuality education in public schools is

mandated by the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012
(Reproductive Health Law). We work closely with our DepEd partners in order to
ensure that teachers are equipped and ready to teach this material to their students
in accordance with the law.

Ground rules
● Honesty - We will be open and honest in this forum
● Non-Judgemental - There will be no judgment from us and we ask that you
also don’t judge one another
● Openness - There isn’t just one right answer or one way to do things – we
welcome different points of view

“Any other rules anyone wants to add?”

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STATISTICAL DATA (NUMBERS DON’T LIE)

Rationale:
● Teachers are unaware of the health issues that young people face.

Objectives:

● Teachers learn about youth health issues.

● Teachers acknowledge the real health situation teenagers are facing.

Materials:
● Statistical data powerpoint

Procedure:

1. Introduce the topic.

2. Present statistics on maternal mortality rates, unintended pregnancies,
teenage pregnancies, complications due to abortion, and HIV/AIDS.
3. Discussion.

Discussion Questions:

● What do you notice about the yearly numbers?

● Why do you think teenage pregnancy keeps increasing?
● What do you think is lacking? Why?
● What can teachers do to help curb the increasing numbers of teenage
pregnancies and HIV?

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DAISY SAIS

Rationale:
● Teachers often refuse to acknowledge that students are having sex. Using
stories is a good way to get them engaged with the issues and to empathize
with the characters.

Objectives:

● Teachers acknowledge the risky behaviors teenagers are engaged in.

● Teachers empathize with and have concern for the students.

Materials:
● Stories (A and B), manila paper, markers.

Procedure:

1. Divide participants into 4 groups. Give each group a copy of one of the stories
and a sheet of manila paper and a marker.
2. Instruct the participants to answer the discussion questions and write up a
summary of answers on their manila paper.
3. After 10 minutes, each group will present their work.

STORIES

“Daisy-sais” (A)

Si Joanna ay 16 years old. Mula siya sa isang pamilya na may malalim na

pananampalataya sa kanilang relihiyon. Lumaki siya sa paniniwala na kailangan
ikasal muna bago makipagtalik. Maging ang kaniyang mga magulang ay paulit-ulit
siyang pinaaalalahanan patungkol dito.

Nakilala niya si Dave sa isang text clan. Naging madalas ang pagpapalitan nila ng
mga text messages, nagkaroon ng mutual understanding at talagang nagustuhan
na nila ang isa’t-isa.

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Simula noon, madalas na silang magkita,magkasama at naging sobrang close.
Nararamdaman ni Joanna na unti-unti nang nahuhulog ang loob niya kay Dave.
Isang gabi, pumasyal si Dave kina Joanna, nagkataong wala sa bahay ang mga
magulang niya. Walang anu-ano ay bigla na lang siyang niyakap at hinalikan ni
Dave habang sinasabi ang salitang “mahal na mahal kita Joanna”. Dumating sa
yugto na niyaya siya ni Dave na magtalik na sila. Hindi malaman ni Joanna kung
ano ang gagawin niya sa pagkakataon na iyon. Sobrang naguguluhan na siya kung
papayag ba siya sa gustong mangyari ni Dave. Sa huli, nanaig ang pangungulit ni
Dave at nagtalik nga sila.

Sa ngayon, isang buwan na siyang buntis at hindi na nag-aaral dahil sa sobrang

kahihiyan. Mataas kasi ang expectations ng mga magulang nito sa kanya. Nang
malaman na buntis si Joanna ay agad na nagplano ng kasal ang mga magulang
nito, ngunit pareho lamang silang menor de edad ni Dave.

Discussion Questions:

● Anong mga paniniwala mayroon si Joanna patungkol sa sex? Sa paggamit

ng proteksiyon?
● Sinunod ba ni Joanna ang paniniwalang mayroon siya? Bakit?
● Kung sinunod niya ang kaniyang paniniwala, ano sana ang dapat niyang
ginawa?

“Daisy-sais” (B)

Si Denise ay 16 years old. Mula siya sa isang mahirap na pamilya na may malalim
na pananampalataya sa kanilang relihiyon. Lumaki siya sa paniniwala na dapat
ikasal muna bago makipagtalik. Maging ang kaniyang mga magulang ay paulit-ulit
siyang pinaaalalahanan patungkol dito. Personally, naniniwala din siya na
mahalagang gumamit ng proteksiyon kung sakali na hindi na maiwasang
makipagtalik upang maiwasan ang hindi planadong pagbubuntis at pagkahawa sa
mga sakit na nakukuha sa pakikipagtalik kagaya ng HIV – na natutunan niya sa
kanilang klase sa MAPEH.

Two months ago, nakilala niya si Jerome sa isang text clan. Naging madalas ang
pagpapalitan nila ng mga text messages, at gusto talaga nila ang bawat isa. Simula

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noon, madalas na silang magkita at magkasama, at masasabing sobrang close na
nila sa isa’t-isa. Nararamdaman ni Denise na unti-unti nang nahuhulog ang loob
niya kay Jerome. Isang gabi, pumunta si Jerome kina Denise dahil wala sa bahay
ang mga magulang niya. Walang anu-ano ay bigla na lang niyakap ni Jerome si
Denise at sinabi na mahal siya nito at gusto niyang magtalik na sila. Hindi malaman
ni Denise kung ano ang gagawin niya sa pagkakataon na iyon nang biglang
naalala niya ang mga pinag-aralan nila sa MAPEH patungkol sa paggamit ng
proteksiyon. Sa huli, pumayag siyang makipagtalik KUNG gagamit sila ng condom.

Sa ngayon, mula noong magtalik sila ni Jerome, nakapag pregnancy test na si

Denise dahil gusto niyang makasiguro na hindi siya buntis – at negative din ang
result. Patuloy pa rin siya sa kaniyang pag-aaral. Nasabi niya sa sarili niya na
mabuti na lamang at itinuro sa kanila kung paano proteksiyonan ang sarili mula sa
hindi planadong pagbubuntis at pagkahawa sa mga STIs, dahil kung hindi baka
hindi na siya nag-aaral at hindi na niya maaabot pa ang mga pangarap niya sa
buhay.

Discussion Questions:

● Anong mga paniniwala mayroon si Denise patungkol sa sex? Sa paggamit ng

proteksiyon?
● Sinunod ba ni Denise ang paniniwalang mayroon siya? Bakit?
● Kung sinunod niya ang kaniyang paniniwala, ano sana ang dapat niyang
ginawa?

Additional Discussion Questions for the group:

● Anong paniniwala mayroon ang mga karakter sa kwento patungkol sa sex?

Sa paggamit ng proteksiyon?
● Sinunod ba nila ang mga paniniwalang mayroon sila? Bakit?
● Kung sinunod nila ang kanilang mga paniniwala, ano sana ang dapat nilang
ginawa?
● Alin sa dalawang kuwento ang nanaisin ninyong mangyari sa inyong mga
estudyante? Bakit?

Important Take-aways:

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● When engaging with students, it’s best to establish a friendly and
non-judgmental attitude.
● Empathize with students and try to put yourself in their situations. Showing
empathy builds trust.
● Students are not always going to believe or do the same things that you
believe or would like them to do. While you may not approve of their
behaviors, it is important to equip them with the information they need to
protect themselves if or when they engage in risky behavior.
● There are issues that we might find hard to solve. In some cases, you can
refer them to other agencies or NGOs. For example, if you know your
students are sexually active, you can refer them to Ugat ng Kalusugan in
order to access contraceptive and HIV counseling.

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ADOLESCENT SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH: VALUES CLARIFICATION EXERCISE

Objectives:
● Teachers clarify and explore their personal attitudes and values towards
Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

Materials:
● Meta cards, masking tape, markers

Procedure:

1. World cafe format - teachers walk around the room to the colored cards
posted around the venue and post AGREE OR DISAGREE using the same
color meta card under each statement.
❖ Talking to teens about sex makes them want to have sex. (Yellow)
❖ Abstinence-only programs should be taught in schools. (Blue)
❖ Sex Education corrupts the innocence of young people. (Green)
❖ Discussing contraceptives encourages young people to use them.
(Pink)
2. Facilitate discussion.
3. Let teachers lead the discussion. Fill in any gaps, correct misconceptions at
the end.

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Frequently Raised Topics:

Why is it important to talk with teens about sexuality and RH?

❖ Studies show that teenagers make better decisions about sex when they have
all the information they need and when they are able to talk about it at home
and or with trusted adults. Research also shows that young people often say
they want to be able to talk with their parents about reproductive health. This
supports the view that parents should discuss sexuality with their children.
However, most parents do not, and they expect their children to be taught in
schools. For some young people, teachers are the only trusted adults in their
lives who are in a position to provide information and education.

Will talking about sex make teens want to have sex?

❖ No. Many parents and adults fear that talking about sex will make teens want
to have it. But studies show that the teenagers whose parents or teachers talk
with them about sex are more likely to wait longer to begin having sex and to
use contraception when they do begin. The teenagers who are the most
sexually active are usually the ones who know the least about sex.

When is the right time to talk with teens about sex?

❖ Talking with children about sex is not a one-time event; it is a life process that
will evolve as children grow. Children need to talk at different times about
different sexual topics. Comprehensive Sexuality Education thus needs to be
age-appropriate and needs to be a topic that schools and teachers engage in
multiple times during every year of schooling a child has.

What RH information should be given to teens?

❖ Reproductive health education for teens begins with abstinence – the only
completely certain way for the youth to protect themselves against
pregnancy, STIs, and HIV/AIDS. To successfully practice abstinence, young
people need skills, including decision making, communication, negotiation,
and refusal skills. However, when abstinence is taught as the only option for
young people, youth do not receive information and skills that will help keep

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 them safe when they become sexually active. Without information, young
people are less able to make responsible choices.

❖ It is also important to remember that some young people in classrooms are

already sexually active, so programs that focus exclusively on abstinence
leave out the young people who are already engaged in sex. It is important
even when discussing abstinence to include information about contraception
to ensure that those who need that information to protect themselves will get
it.

Abstinence and Contraception

❖ Abstinence and contraception are the two best ways for youth to protect
themselves and stay healthy. Telling young people about both acknowledges
the challenges young people face growing up in today’s complex world and
helps youth act responsibly. Research shows that programs that teach both
abstinence and contraception are more effective at reaching youth and
promoting healthy behavior than are programs that teach abstinence only.

❖ The effects of RH education are as follows: First, RH programs can help teens
remain abstinent by giving them accurate information about their own
bodies, raising their awareness of sexually transmitted infections, and helping
them build the skills to resist peer pressure. Second, among the youth that
have had sex, information and access to contraceptives helps keep young
people safe from HIV, other STIs, and unwanted pregnancy. Research shows
that giving information on sexual health and/or providing young people with
RH services does not make them more likely to have sex.

Misconceptions About Sex Education

Teaching sex education will increase sexual activity among teenagers.

❖ The point of sex ed is not to teach teenagers to have sex. It is there to give
them proper comprehensive knowledge on the topic so that they know how
the whole thing works, and what the dangers that come with it are. Simply
scaring teens into chastity and abstinence and using warnings like “If you

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 have sex before you get married, you are going to die”, is not effective. Young
people will simply tune it out when it is no longer something they agree with
or believe in.

❖ Comprehensive Sex Ed teaches teenagers properly what sex is, and what it
may lead to. Studies actually show that its main purpose is to delay sex.
Instead of simply trying it out and learning on their own, teenagers will have
background knowledge on the subject. The implementation of teaching sex
ed can lead to so many positive outcomes for the country such as decrease
in teenage pregnancy, proper family and future planning, and the lessening
of teenagers dropping out of school because they cannot support both their
education and their baby.

Teaching sex ed goes against the beliefs of the church.

❖ Though most Catholics strongly agree that God disapproves of premarital
sex, it is also a well-known fact that God promoted the idea of people
improving for the better and leading well-planned lives, which is exactly what
having proper sex ed in the Philippines can deliver. Premarital sex may be
wrong in the context of Catholicism, yes, but do people not see anything
wrong with the continuous increase in teenage pregnancies in the country? It
doesn’t exactly come as a shock to anyone that a large percent of the
Philippines – 33% alone in the NCR Region according to studies from 2015 –
has been affected by poverty. A large number of this group is made up of
teenage couples who had no knowledge of sex, and because of this, went into
their sexual lives unprepared. This leads not only to the unhappy life of the
mother and the father of the child, but that of their child or children as well.

Sex Ed should not be a mandatory class.

❖ Having early sex with no idea of its repercussions can put teenagers at risk of
so many things, with unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted
infections being only two examples of what may happen to them. The best
case scenario is that their economic futures are stunted. The worst case
scenario is that the baby or mother or both may die.

❖ If teenagers do not receive proper education about sex, they will have no
knowledge about subjects like the possible health risks – STIs (chlamydia,
gonorrhea, HIV and AIDS, and Syphilis) – and will have no idea how to prevent

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 getting them. They will not know what to do if they accidentally hurt their
partner, and will be unaware of any irregularities in their body that their
sexual activity may be causing them. Having no education about sex will not
stop teenagers from having sex, it will just stop them from staying safe.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education disregards values and morals.

❖ CSE incorporates values and cultural sensitivity. Quality CSE supports a
rights-based approach in which values such as respect, acceptance,
tolerance, equality, empathy, and reciprocity are inextricably linked to
universally agreed human rights. CSE also provides young people with the
opportunity to explore and define their individual values as well as those of
their families and communities.

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ACTION PLAN - BE AN ALLY

Objectives:
● Teachers develop a concrete plan on how to address reproductive health
issues in their respective schools

Materials:
● Manila paper, markers

Procedure:

1. Reiterate the issues from the Statistical data presentation.

2. Ask participants what they can do to mitigate these problems, and how they
will do it.
3. Divide teachers into 5 groups (ideally 4 members each).
4. Give 10 minutes to discuss within their group.
5. Groups present their output.

Teachers should think about these points in order to incorporate our teachings:

Characteristics of Effective Sexuality and HIV Education Programs

The curricula of the most effective programs share characteristics. These programs:

● Focus on reducing sexual behaviors that lead to unintended pregnancy or

sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
● Deliver and consistently reinforce a clear message about abstaining from
sexual activity and/or using condoms or other forms of contraception. This
appears to be one of the more important characteristics distinguishing
effective from ineffective programs.
● Provide basic, accurate information about the risks of teen sexual activity
and about ways to avoid intercourse or to use methods of protection against
pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
● Select teachers or peer leaders who believe in the program and then provide
them with adequate training.

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CONCLUSION
In the face of numerous challenges that Filipino adolescents face every
day—discrimination, gender-based violence, harmful gender stereotypes—they must
be equipped with the life skills and assets to help them make the best decisions for
themselves and their community. When adolescents choose to have sex, they have
a right to access not just information but also inclusive adolescent sexual and
reproductive health (ASRH) services.

At the end of the day, when an adolescent, especially a girl, knows her rights, is
empowered to choose, and is heard, she can improve not only her life but also the
life of her immediate and future families. So, maybe it’s time to have this discussion
with them?

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