The Impact of Contextual Factors on Comprehensive Sexuality Education for Learners with Intellectual Disabilities in South Africa

Adolescents and youth with disabilities in South Africa still lack access to sexual and reproductive health and rights services including comprehensive sexuality education, which may increase their vulnerability to SRHR issues such as HIV and sexual violence. This is exacerbated for learners with intellectual disabilities whose educators often lack skills and tools to accommodate these learners in comprehensive sexuality education lessons. The following paper outlines the findings of a formative evaluation of an innovative sexuality training approach for educators of learners with diverse disabilities (Breaking the Silence approach). This approach was developed and piloted with educators across eight schools for learners with intellectual disabilities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The paper discusses the educators’ understanding and experiences of using this approach. The findings revealed that although educators were able to implement parts of the approach, contextual factors impacted the degree of implementation. These factors were related to perceptions of socio-cultural norms, interpersonal engagement with peers and management, the structural environment of school settings, and the wider community setting. Educators began to address cultural taboos related to talking about sexuality, but were challenged by untrained staff and the larger socio-cultural context, which includes a heighted risk of sexual violence against their learners. The paper concludes with recommendations for a further investigation of the approach within a whole school setting considering the needs of educators to not only acquire skills and knowledge but also to address their larger socio-cultural context in which they have to implement comprehensive sexuality education.