On 9 June, the Irish Minister for Finance launched the Women in Sexuality Education (WiSE UP) Impact Report in Dublin.
WiSE UP is a pilot programme on sexuality education designed by IPPF member association, the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), for women living and working in communities experiencing social exclusion.
From 2005 to 2007, the twenty week WiSE UP programme including accredited training courses in sexuality education was delivered to women in RAPID areas of Ireland and also to traveller women in Pavee Point. RAPID stands for "Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development ". It is a focused initiative by the government to target the most concentrated areas of disadvantage in the country.
WiSE UP was funded under the Equality for Women Measure: RAPID Strand which provides funding for projects that aim to achieve equality for women within designated RAPID areas.
The course content included a wide range of issues: contraception and STI’s, sexual health services, prejudices and myths about sex, sexuality and minority groups and links between alcohol/drug use and sexual health. Underpinning the course was a desire to enable the women to explore personal, cultural and religious values that impact on sex and sexuality and develop strategies for challenging these and managing difficult situations in sexuality education. A key component of the course was to enable women to develop teaching, facilitation, and other personal skills to enable them to act as an educational resource within their families and communities.
One of the authors of the report, Dr Murphy Lawless of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, highlighted the many successes of the WiSE UP programme and recommended that the Programme be rolled out to other economically disadvantaged areas.
The IFPA reiterated its call for a national health strategy and well resourced action plan to be developed and implemented as soon as possible.
For more information on WiSE UP programme contact: nbehan@ifpa.ie