Life Skills Development/Unit Two/Human Sexuality and Sexual Health

Introduction
This unit will cover the content of Human Sexuality and Sexual Health. This topic is more than just sex and having sex; it is part of the physical, psychological and social makeup of an individual. Sexuality is about the person you feel you are as a man or a woman, about your sexual orientation and identity. Human sexuality is a function of one’s whole personality that is life long, beginning from birth. It includes how one feels about oneself as a person; how one feels about being a man or a woman, and how one gets along with members of either gender. Sexuality also includes genital and reproductive health, such as intercourse and child bearing. It is the way one thinks, feels and behaves (UNAIDS, 2004). Human Sexuality and Sexual Health, therefore, is the area dealing with information leading to the building of attitudes, beliefs and values about such topics as identity, body image and gender role, sexual development, reproductive health relationships, and intimacy (SIECUS, 2004).

Information on Human Sexuality and Sexual Health is crucial for preparing children for their lives as adults and parents. It will provide young people with skills such as responding adequately to demands for sexual intercourse or offers of drugs, taking responsible decisions, managing situations of risk, and seeking appropriate health services, counseling and care.