Dr Yemi Adeyemi, through her groundbreaking work in the area of sexuality education, won the 2021 SH:24 and Brook Sexual Health Award. In this interview by DANIEL ABEL, she speaks on her reasons and motivations for embarking on the journey.
What is the award about?
The Sexual Health Award is run by the National Health Service and Brook in the United Kingdom. It was created to recognise individuals and organisations making impacts in the world of sexual and reproductive health. I was recognised for the creation of board games and books written to promote sexuality education.
Why sex education? And when did you become conscious of the need to educate people on sexual health?
I had my one year national youth service in Moniya, Ibadan, Oyo State and saw the impact lack of sexuality education have on teenagers. Poor sexual education most times leads to pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and risky sexual behavior. This shaped my decision and gave me a reason to start my journey of sexuality education in secondary schools by establishing the Brave Boys and Girls Club which provides age appropriate, non-judgmental and comprehensive sex education to teenagers and young people.
What were some of the challenges you faced while in the beginning and what are some of the challenges you currently face?
Sex is still seen as something done behind closed doors that should not be discussed so issues around the topic is usually put on hush or said in a coded manner. At the beginning, teachers and parents use to be worried that the children would be affected adversely out of the fear of too much information. I had to have meetings with teachers and parents giving them a rundown of my lectures and explain that keeping valuable information from them only puts them at risk of making mistakes in that area of their lives. A good illustration is the fire drill. The fire drills are done to prepare people on the important steps to take in case of a fire. In sexuality education we are empowering young people with information so that they can make informed decision when it comes to sexual and reproductive health.
Benefits of implementation of sexual education in schools?
Evidence has shown that sexuality education reduces the rate of teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Teenagers and young people spend majority of their time in school or at home. Quite a number might be lucky enough to get appropriate and correct home based sex education while other wouldn’t. The school could act as a buffer by exposing them to comprehensive sexuality education which goes beyond sex, it teaches self love, relationships, body changes through puberty, consent, sexual assault to mention a few. In the hands of trained teachers or counselors, sexuality education would leave a lasting effect on teenagers and help them make positive choices in that area of life.
What are the reactions you’ve gotten so far? Has the project been received positively?
I would give major accolade to my team and mentors in the field. Their support, words of encouragement has been immeasurable in pushing me to continue. The reception of projects by the general public has improved greatly. This is mostly thanks to the eye opening and the sense of its needs by community leaders, schools and governmental bodies.
What role do you think the Federal Government, media and other industries can play in informing and educating the public on sexual education?
I would appeal with to the Federal Government to include comprehensive sexuality education in secondary schools with trained educationist. I would also solicit for youth friendly sexual health clinic in various states in Nigeria. The media can also assist by putting out the right information about the subject and other industries to look into innovations and technologies dedicated to the improvement in sexual health.
How long have you been educating people on sexual health?
My journey into educating people on their sexuality is currently in its fifth year.
How do you intend to use your global recognition to reshape this aspect of society?
I am grateful for how far I have come but I know there is so much more to do. The industry is still growing and I am still establishing my feet in Femtech. I see myself being a part of an Afrocentric innovative firm that provides solutions to various aspects of sexual and reproductive health.
Did your background, course of study or any personal experience shape or influenced your choice of sexual education?
Absolutely, I am grateful to my mum for exposure to some level of sex education.Sumy State University, Ukraine for my undergraduate training and the University of South Wales for adding to this and empowering me with the tools to do so much more.
What has your career journey been like? Who inspired you in your unique industry?
It has been beautiful and eye opening experience which has sharpen my knowledge and ways of addressing sensitive issues. I’m grateful to have senior colleagues and colleagues like who put tireless hours in Marie Stopes, UNFPA, Women Deliver, Women First Digital and RevaginateNG.
Do you have any other programmes or projects you are working on?
The sexuality education sessions in schools still continue as we are working on the digitalisation of the board game created so far: The Flow Game and The Play It Safe game.
Tell us about the Flow Game
The Flow Game is West Africa’s first board game that teaches menstruation and menstrual hygiene. The game was created by adolescent girls who were part of The Yemi Adeyemi Reprohealth Foundation Brave Girls Club. They were instrumental in creating the structure of the game under the guidance of professionals. This process took 2 years with a lot of corrections from the team and the girls.
The game covers four basic aspects namely, the female reproductive system, menstruation and menstrual related issues, menstrual products and pregnancy and contraceptives.
Other topics addressed include sexual assault, consent, myths and misconceptions. A box of the game contains a dice, 5 miniatures, colour coded card, the board and the flow handbook. The aim of the flow game is to increase knowledge attitude and practice of menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
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CLAIM 1: A Twitter user claims UNICEF said any efforts to block children from accessing pornography might infringe their human rights.
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