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Sexual Education of Women in Vulnerable Sectors

 

Author: Lynett Carolina Vásquez Veracochea

Universidad Fermín Toro, UFT

lybarbie@hotmail.com

Lara, Venezuela

 

Abstract

This article provides a description of a multidisciplinary work with the objective of proposing the development of guiding strategies necessary to inform and promote sexual and reproductive education to women in the Manuel Monge Municipality of the Yaracuy, Venezuela state; allowing an active contribution to society to counteract adolescent pregnancies, extreme poverty and the eradication of gender violence, seeking the empowerment of women in vulnerable sectors based on knowledge of their rights. The methodology used from the research was the participation action with a qualitative paradigm approach for the perception of the actors, a previous design for the collection of information, planning of knowledge strategies that would allow to elaborate semi-structured interviewing activities to three key informants of the focus groups, with work plans, practical workshops, health days and active listening to establish criteria for resources in obtaining results.

 

The technique of data interpretation allows ordering the information of how, where, when and why clearly in order to establish a relationship between categories, and other data collected to provide an integral accompaniment to the woman towards the achievement of the proposed objectives.

 

Keywords:  sex education; family planning; birth rate.

 

 

 

La Educación Sexual de la Mujer en Sectores Vulnerables

 

Resumen

El presente artículo brinda una descripción de un trabajo multidisciplinario con el objetivo de proponer el desarrollo de estrategias orientadoras necesarias para informar y fomentar la educación sexual y reproductiva a las mujeres del Municipio Manuel Monge del estado Yaracuy, Venezuela; permitiendo un aporte activo a la sociedad para contrarrestar los embarazos adolescentes, pobreza extrema y la erradicación de la violencia de género, buscando el empoderamiento de la mujer en sectores vulnerables a partir del conocimiento de sus derechos. La metodología empleada desde la investigación fue la acción participación con un enfoque del paradigma cualitativo por la percepción de los actores, un diseño previo para la recolección de información, planificación de estrategias sobre conocimientos que permitiera elaborar actividades de entrevistas semiestructuradas a tres informantes claves de los grupos focales, con planes de trabajo, talleres prácticos, jornadas de salud y una escucha activa para establecer criterios de los recursos en la obtención de los resultados.

 

La técnica de interpretación de datos permite ordenar la información del cómo, dónde, cuándo y por qué con claridad a fin de establecer una relación entre categorías, y otros datos recolectados para brindar un acompañamiento integral a la mujer hacia el logro de los objetivos planteados.

 

Palabras clave: educación sexual; planificación de la familia; tasa de natalidad.

 

 

 

1. Introduction

Since man began to live in community, he implemented a series of codes that allowed him to share social conscience, that is, a shared sense with the community of his reality; The beginnings of civilization in aspects of coexistence seem to be established in a system of apparent equality in social relations, social and cultural organization. From his subjectivity, the differences between men and women did not establish a difference when facing work and power positions.

 

However, as time passes the power, knowledge and new social dynamics, transformed the group meanings, the establishment of a monotheistic model based on the Jews transforms the dual world of power in the androcentric world, where the bias established in the new social imaginary on the information and formation of women.

 

With this system of social conscience, control over social behaviors was guaranteed in the first place, where the binary man-woman system had its normative cultural stereotypes limiting its participation within the established guidelines from domination relations. In these socio-symbolic logics that reproduce and legitimize differences in power, as Michael Foucault put it, the logic of power requires mechanisms of control and domination to legitimize its practices.

 

The biggest advance in the mid-twentieth century, was the creation of the contraceptive pill, which allowed women to reappropriation of their bodies, to meet again with a castrated and denied sexuality, beginning true independence assuming nature to a certain extent castrated until that moment. However, the path of sexuality as a social construction of biological, emotional and relational expressions is still influenced by a cultural context that is based on patriarchy.

 

For its part, the term of sexual health broadly disseminated by the World Health Organization is defined as a multifactorial construction of the sexual being in which intellectual, cultural, social, emotional and somatic aspects intervene, linked to the ability to express the sexuality of a person. free and full way.

 

Sex education continues to be a taboo subject for women in today's society, since the development of the Christian era; numerous stereotypes disseminated through the media have made the social being behave learned and reinforced from the collective vision protected by the primary socializing agents; On this imaginary we have a Western media system that has portrayed a unique and alienating reality capable of unifying the criteria of beauty, truth, good or bad.

 

Religious, political, sporting, cultural and social patterns are criticized with vehemence by these means, when they hold a position different from that shared from the sources of power within any social structure of the government up to the primary institutions such as school and family. That is why the education of sexuality becomes a responsibility of society as a whole, fostered from birth within the family group and takes place throughout life in the successive links that people establish when interacting with different groups.

 

The development of these links is defined from the environmental factor, which generates special characteristics within the culture that, as noted (Durand, 2002, p.179): in its article on the impact of the environment on social culture: "Determinism environmental implies that the culture is basically constituted by a series of adaptations to the environment and develops in a process equivalent to that of natural selection".

 

With this statement the author clarifies the indispensable role of the environment, as a conditioner of positions towards certain issues in this case with regard to sex education. This is why to visualize the case that will be addressed, we must begin by defining the environment where this multidisciplinary work was carried out located in the rural agricultural area of the Yaracuy state, adjacent to the Falcón state in Venezuela.

 

The Municipality under the name of Manuel Monge, has a population of more than 30 thousand inhabitants, data provided from the census of the Local Committee of Supply and Production of the municipal government entity where about 40% of it, is in a situation of poverty extreme poverty characterizing the population by having one of the highest rates of birth at the state and national level in recent years especially in teenage pregnancies according to unofficial municipal health figures.

 

2. Development

2.1. Recognition of Need

Within the activities carried out by the Municipal Government represented in the Mayor's Office of the Manuel Monge Municipality, one of the 14 that make up the Yaracuy State in Venezuela, there is a modality called the street government where the maximum municipal authority addresses the 21 communities extended in its 474 km2 with a multidisciplinary team looking to address the different problems that arise in sectors, emerging, several needs beyond the simply materials.

 

In this case, the vision is presented from the communicational, psychological and educational perspective, areas of study of the social researcher to develop the tools that allow carrying a message that represents a contribution to the bio-psycho-social development of the individual; The main subject of the approach is the woman, due to her transcendental position within the vulnerable sectors, mainly due to her capacity to give life during her reproductive age, increasing the population in the sectors of scarce resources.

 

Although, the approach of sexual relations and reproduction lies in a perspective of co-responsibility of a man, she is in a position of cultural and sexual vulnerability due to the patriarchal society that has taken away her rights over her sexuality with judgments of value and cultural labels that fill them with insecurity when seeking professional help when making the decision to have sexual relations especially in young people; Calero (2007), cited by Rodríguez, Sanabria, Contreras and Perdomo (2013), states in his speech that:

The degree of vulnerability of adolescents and young people is a function of their previous history, added to the susceptibility or strengths induced by the changes of some social, demographic factors, the family micro-environment, socio-economic policies, as well as the degree of knowledge they have about Sexual and Reproductive Health (p.162).

 

2.2. Power and Sexuality

Society is composed of several power structures, known from sociology, as a social structure that operates from the symbolic in the exercise of power, having two complementary meanings such as relational and institutional structure; both allow to describe the relationships that link members in organized communities. These organizations seek to create a culture laden with ethnographic, geographical values ​​of political and cultural utility.

 

In these power structures are positions such as machismo that are found as forms of oppression, being objective by predicting human behavior in search of power. This power, as reviewed by Foucault (1976), is presented from these social structures that exert control over the relations and interactions of subjects regulating their behavior; This is achieved through the construction of subjectivities where sexuality plays a preponderant role in knowledge and truth towards the emancipation of being:

Sex is both access to the life of a body and the life of the species. It is used as the matrix of the disciplines and main of the regulations ... But it also becomes the subject of political operations, of economic interventions through incitements or brakes to the procreation of ideological campaigns of moralization or of responsibility, it is asserted as an index of force of a society thus revealing both its political energy and its biological vigor (p.87).

 

The position of the author, allows to reflect on the use of sexuality as a control entity within society, in this case speaking of vulnerable sectors is evident the little attention that exists to increase the birth rate in people of extreme poverty that will impact in other social scourges such as diseases, malnutrition, death, delinquency among other mitigating factors that harm the development of these sectors, with tools to overcome the circumstances of extreme poverty towards their ideological emancipation.

 

When observing the municipality from active listening, it is evident in vulnerable sectors, the presence of adolescent or young women with several children, appealing to the active contribution of the State to be able to count on food and social benefits.

 

In these structures are few that culminate the school year, so access to knowledge in a research is difficult for them, knowledge is received in an experiential way, through the day to day and the exchange of knowledge with the discourse of your fellow citizens. This discourse is generally validated by man, who are generally the figures of power, who bring the economic contribution in exchange for giving up the power of decision on issues of a sexual nature, avoiding or neglecting the protection of women to avoid unplanned pregnancies and diseases.

 

This is how the relations of biopower are intertwined, in these sectors protected by social stereotypes that are reproduced in women endorsed in the sexist discourse of institutions and social discourse, the ignorance of the legal apparatus of protection that women have at present for guarantee its development for a life free of violence.

 

2.3. Health System vs Social Attention

          It is important to note that the municipal health area is implementing comprehensive assistance policies, coordinating with regional and national institutions to provide timely care to its inhabitants in areas of prevention and care free of charge for all inhabitants of the Municipality.

 

Detected the problem of information and guidance in the areas of sexual health, doctors executed medical attention responses with contraceptive methods and family planning talks. Although these resources were popular among the female population, they fulfilled as a palliative a problem that is increasing day by day due to the little awareness of rights as women, putting reproduction above the self-realization exemplified in the Maslow pyramid where all the needs are covered.

 

Social care, understood as a multidisciplinary and highly pedagogical work, that seeks autonomy of being was an innovative theme in the municipality, so there was resistance in the groups of medical spheres to couple a program where the priority was collective construction of women with the tools for the exercise of their sexuality in a free and safe way, going from theory to activism, visiting the length and breadth of the municipality with a critical education that as I was saying (Freire, 2004a, p.12): "It will not seek to transfer knowledge but to create possibilities for its construction or production".

 

That is why, after several meetings between the social researcher who served as commissioner of the Mayor's office for the health and communication sector of the Mayor's Office and the medical union represented in the Municipal Health Coordination, it is possible to integrate the vision of making the sexual education in the communities a manifestation of the vital experience with historical contributions that will be constructed and deconstructed from the collective to achieve the transformation giving meaning to all the symbolic apparatus that governs the sexuality in these areas of scarce resources.

 

2.4. Objective

This is how the main objective of the multidisciplinary work that will be the development of guiding strategies necessary to inform and promote sexual and reproductive education for women in the Manuel Monge Municipality of Yaracuy State, Venezuela through pedagogical strategies that allow the transformation that empowers women especially in conditions of economic, psychological or social vulnerability.

 

2.5. Dialectic of Being and Doing

To start the creation of new pedagogical guiding strategies, it is necessary to practice the educational practice with a positive attitude as Freire himself said, since, to change the world with a free and necessary impetus that a better world with hope that change is possible.

 

In this way, it is essential to reinforce active listening for students who in this case are women of extreme poverty and little or no access to information about their duties and rights as women in this country. This is followed by the recommendation of Freire himself (2004b), to carry out a historical, political and social psychoanalysis that allows participants to recognize the dehumanizing exclusionary system that generates their situation of vulnerability.

 

The pedagogical processes work as incessant creations and from them a path of multiple options is opened to keep moving forward always rethinking the objectives towards a perfect articulation between theory and praxis, strengthening the dialogicity between being and doing.

 

3. Methodology

3.1. Elaboration of the Workshop

The nature of this work has a qualitative approach to consider that the study of the case previously raised is based on the discovery of information, data provided directly by the participants through their speeches.

 

The qualitative approach is supported by the discourse of (Hernández, Fernández and Baptista, 1997), which affirmed that:

The studies involve the collection of data using techniques that are not intended to measure or associate measurements with numbers, such as unstructured observations, open interviews, review of documents, group discussion, evaluation of personal experiences, inspection of life histories, semantic analysis and of daily speeches, interaction of groups or communities and introspection (p.93).

 

          It is also important to clarify that from this perspective we can glimpse the discourse of the researcher of this work that has a link to the area of ​​training, ie: Knowing the process I know. This is how the act of interpreting can not be based on a technique on which to base the human sciences methodologically; Understanding will then be the proper mode through which the subject relates to the social and physical world.

 

It is then, how will try to reveal the patterns of sexual and reproductive education imposed by the social structure allowing the legitimate, equal and direct participation of all parties involved in the construction of its meaning by countering the positivist model of domination and control.

 

For the development of the investigation, the Participating Action Research method was selected because it establishes in its procedures elements that allow the cooperative participation of its subjects and researchers aiming at the production of transforming knowledge from a process of collective construction of knowledge, producing the transformation social through all actors. According to (Martínez, 1997, p.73), he states that: "Participatory research is characterized by a set of principles, rules and methodological procedures, which allows collective knowledge to be obtained about a certain social reality".

 

The techniques recommended by this researcher indicate that they are based on the integration of the research subjects with the members of the community that participate in the social transformation where the group diagnosis allows actions to be executed in a cyclic way in phases that allow the diagnosis, planning, execution and evaluation or results.

 

To elaborate a diagnosis of the social reality of women in the municipality, in terms of sex education with a view to creating strategies for their development, we proceeded under the Participating Action three social actors were taken who will act as our key informants who were women of the community contributing relevant data for the planning and execution of the objective. According to Martínez (2002):

A good key informant can play a decisive role in the investigation because it introduces the researcher to others, suggests ideas and ways to relate, warns of the dangers, responds to the group and in summary makes a bridge with the community (p.54).

 

In this sense, the three key informants were given a semi-structured interview with the use of necessary technical resources such as camera, paper and pencil, sighted informants from the everyday environment and thus take their speech from the natural. Supported by Martínez (2004): who indicates that transformative participatory action research is established within the critical social science that produces reflective knowledge. Therefore, educational explorations that follow interpretative and socio-critical approaches use qualitative methodologies that address the discourse of actors and authors of the educational contexts.

 

Table 1. Activity: Key informant interview record 1.

Source: The Author (2017).

 

Table 1.1. Activity: Record of interview with key informant 1.

Source: The Author (2017).

 

Table 2. Activity: Key informant interview record 2.

Source: The Author (2017).

 

Table 2.1. Activity: Key informant interview record 2.

Source: The Author (2017).

 

Table 3. Activity: Key informant interview record 3.

Source: The Author (2017).

 

Table 4. Categories and Subcategories.

Source: The Author (2017).

 

  With this identification of categories, obtained in this first instrument, we proceeded to the elaboration of an action plan starting with the elaboration of an awareness workshop about sexuality; To this end, articulation strategies were developed with different agencies, however the only one that received a response in this first phase was the municipal agency of the SEPNA (service for the protection of children and adolescents) where the social psychologist of this institution was incorporated into the proposed idea covering the areas of self-esteem, sexuality, identity, and gender perspectives.

 

3.2. Content of the Workshop

The workshop was titled Mujer de Hoy, this name was born from the justification given above about the role of women in today's society and their need for empowerment to overcome adversity. The introduction was addressed by the community leader for those present, about the program that began that day, there the institutional psychologist began addressing the concept of self-esteem, childhood and adults, as well as the perspectives of sexuality, gender, sexual identity and sex in general, established a vision about abuse as a representation of low self-esteem and its possible consequences in the child's development.

 

The second phase of the workshop was in charge of the social researcher, the perspective of women within society was discussed, through participation, reflection was sought in a debate of current imaginaries where they only define as a mother leaving aside the sensual image without procreation, as well as methods of protection against violence in any of its forms.

 

It is about taking the oppressor out of the oppressed, seeking the response from the subjective and autonomous vision of each of them, achieving a collective contribution towards what it is to be a woman, sexual relations, taboos, censorship when exercising a responsible sexuality and the possible consequences in sexist sectors by assuming critical positions on self-determination, on sexual and reproductive rights, seeking to strengthen the identity of women who are often oppressed, seeking the empowerment of women in their family life.

 

In this issue, progress was made in the United Nations Organization since 1975, in the protection of the rights of women, especially when they are in vulnerable situations such as poverty or economic, sexual and reproductive domination by their partner. There was also addressed the legal framework in Venezuela with the Organic Law on the right of women to a life free of violence (2007): which includes a change of social stigmas towards women, establishing in Article 1 that it will be: "Promoting changes in the sociocultural patterns that sustain gender inequality and power relations over women, to favor the construction of a democratic, participatory, equal and protagonist fair society".

 

Likewise, responsibility and co-responsibility were discussed when assuming the risks and consequences of sexual relations, ending with the need to empower them by giving them the message to inform themselves with trained people, communicate with those who can help them, protect themselves from diseases and pregnancies followed by leaving the final the motivating message that they are the ones who decide what plans to make for their life.

 

3.3. Analysis of the results

          This series of workshops toured the municipality, covering more than four communities, starting in the population of 13, following the municipal capital Yumare in schools Treasurer and the sector of zero bearing the tools to more than 200 women reproductive age self-managed with implements that made activities more showy such as the use of video beam, the sheets, the computer and the realization of some memories for attendees about sexual and reproductive rights.

 

For the elaboration of the use of the didactic strategies, the pertinence, efficiency and effectiveness for the educational quality improvements based on Terán, Perdomo and Peña (2017), were taken into account: they point out that: "The quality must be conjugated with the pertinence and the impact in a real global and multidimensional context because you can not think of a quality educational institution that is not relevant to your social environment" (p.45).

 

At this point the educational institution is taken from the context of the symbolic, the act of educating and learning. During the interviews, for the press statements they expressed in a positive way the activity with which the street government started, they recommended bringing a second phase for the whole community with more information, inviting them to visit the municipality with this integrative and educational workshop.

 

4. Conclusions and recommendations

          After the interest of the community and the experience gained from the first experience, with this guiding and pedagogical strategy to strengthen sex education in women of extreme poverty in the municipality, it was possible to reach more than 200 women who will be able to multiply the experiential information received from the socializing experiences.

 

It is recommended the incorporation of these activities within the governments of the Mayor's Office, or nationally and internationally, considering that it is a contribution to solve from an educational perspective the problems of poverty, family planning, adolescent pregnancies and other factors that are generate within these environments where there are communication barriers on sexuality and its consequences.

 

The interest of the inhabitants for the talks, led to improve the experience with a multidisciplinary team with the participation of the doctors with the talks about the contraceptive methods that are offered within the public health for the protection and prevention of pregnancies and sexual diseases. as the activation of different surgical days and placement of contraceptive implants for those interested motivated to exercise a responsible sexuality from the workshops.

 

In the same way, workshops for schools were prepared, also addressing children and adolescents for the cooking and exercise of their rights and how to protect themselves from a youthful and youthful perspective, addressing current issues such as school violence and its implications within the socio-affective behavior and sexual of the child and adolescent.

 

Through participation, framed in the humanist current, relevance was obtained in each of the tools used to promote values ​​such as love, responsibility and the individual contribution of the development of society as a whole, based on freire's educational thought of liberation ( 2004c): from ethics, respect for dignity and autonomy.

 

To conclude, we can say that this program is established from a humanist perspective, being a novel element that can be promoted at the regional and national level, meeting the knowledge needs that allow us to grow as a society and as a country because as the Liberator said Simón Bolívar "Morals and lights are our first needs".

 

5. References

Durand, L. (2002). La relación ambiente-cultura en antropología:  recuento y perspectivas. Distrito Federal, México: Editorial Nueva Antropología, XVIII (61). Recuperado de: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=15906109

 

Freire, P. (2004a,b,c). Pedagogía de la Autonomía. Sao Pablo, Brasil: Editorial Paz y Tierra.

 

Foucault, M. (1976). Historia de la Sexualidad. Tomo I, Madrid, España: Editorial Siglo XXI.

 

Ley Orgánica sobre el derecho de las Mujeres a una vida libre de Violencia (2007). Gaceta Oficial N° 38668, 23 de abril. Caracas, Venezuela: La Asamblea Nacional de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Recuperado de: http://www.derechos.org.ve/pw/wp-content/uploads/11.-Ley-Org%C3%A1nica-sobre-el-Derecho-de-las-Mujeres-a-una-Vida-Libre-de-Violencia.pdf

 

Hernández, R., Fernández, C., & Baptista, P. (2003). Metodología de la Investigación. Tercera edición. México: Editorial McGraw-Hill.

 

Martínez, M. (2004). Ciencia y Arte de la metodología cualitativa. México: Editorial Trillas.

 

Martínez, M. (2002). La Investigación Cualitativa Etnográfica en Educación. México: Editorial McGraw-Hill.

 

Martínez, M. (1997). El paradigma emergente: hacia una nueva teoría de la racionalidad científica. 2a ed. México: Trillas.

 

Rodríguez, A., Sanabria, G., Contreras, M., & Perdomo, B. (2013). Estrategia educativa sobre promoción en salud sexual y reproductiva para adolescentes y jóvenes universitarios. La Habana, Cuba: Revista Cubana de Salud Pública, 39(1), 161-174. Recuperado de: https://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rcsp/v39n1/spu15113.pdf

 

Terán, C., Perdomo, E., & Peña, Y. (2017). Alternativas Didácticas de Lectura para el Fortalecimiento de la Calidad Educativa. Revista Scientific, 2(6), 29-51. Recuperado de: https://doi.org/10.29394/scientific.issn.2542-2987.2017.2.6.2.29-51

 

 

Lynett Carolina Vásquez Veracochea

e-mail: lybarbie@hotmail.com

 

Born in Barquisimeto, Lara state, Venezuela. Degree in Social Communication, Journalism from the UFT, Diploma in Communication Management at UCLA with a specialization in social work from the UDO in Santiago de Cuba. Magister in Social Psychology mention institutional and group analysis at the UARCIS of Santiago de Chile. PhD in Educational Sciences, she has worked as Information and Inter-institutional Relations Coordinator at UFT, UPEL Teacher, writer, producer of social assistance programs in health and communication. Commissioner of the office of the Mayor of Manuel Monge. Head of intellectual creation at UNES.

 

The content of this manuscript is disseminated under a Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

 

- Original Version in Spanish -

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29394/Scientific.issn.2542-2987.2018.3.8.7.138-158