Supporting Young People in Navigating Relationships, Sexuality, and Digital Life
Supporting Young People to Navigate Relationships, Sexuality and Digital Life
As a health coach and sexuality educator, I work with individuals and organisations to support healthier relationships with health, bodies, sexuality and wellbeing so I was delighted to contribute to the Sexuality Connect project with Kehsia. On 15 June, I had the pleasure of delivering the final training session of the Sexuality Connect project, organised by KEHSIA, in collaboration with Donnexstrada (Italy) and Euducate (Spain) bringing together young people, youth workers, educators and community stakeholders for an afternoon of learning, discussion and practical skills.
The focus was on a topic that feels increasingly important in the world young people are growing up in today: How we navigate relationships, sexuality and digital environments.
Young people's experiences of relationships and sexuality are increasingly shaped by the digital world. Social media, messaging, online pornography, dating platforms and the constant availability of information can provide opportunities for connection and learning, but they can also create confusion, pressure and exposure to misinformation.
For the adults supporting young people, this creates an important responsibility, not necessarily to have all the answers, but to be able to listen without judgement, ask the right questions, provide reliable information and create spaces where young people feel safe to talk. That was at the heart of this training.
Learning through participation
Rather than delivering a traditional lecture, I designed the session to be interactive and experiential, to showcase what participants had learned in the online content session organized by Donnexstrada.
We used facilitated discussions, collaborative exercises, real-life case studies and scenarios to explore situations that young people may encounter both online and offline.
Participants were encouraged to question, reflect, share experiences and consider how they might respond in their own professional or community settings, rather than simply receiving information. This was an opportunity for people with different experiences and perspectives to learn from one another on a range of connected themes, including:
Digital safety and online environments·
Healthy and respectful relationships
Consent and boundaries
Communication
Inclusive sexuality education
Misinformation and reliable sources of information
Supporting young people to make informed decisions
We considered common scenarios and challenging questions that youth workers and educators may encounter, to find ways to respond in a way that is accurate, respectful, inclusive and appropriate for young people. Sexuality education isn't just about transferring information but it’s very much about developing communication skills, confidence, critical thinking and the ability to make informed choices.
Practical tools for real conversations
One of the key aims of the session was to ensure that participants left with practical approaches they could use immediately. Through the exercises, participants exchanged ideas, co-created activities and explored different ways of opening conversations around relationships and sexuality and reported feeling more confident about:
Approaching sensitive conversations
Responding to challenging questions
Discussing sexuality and relationships without judgement
Addressing misinformation
Supporting young people in a professional and empathetic way.
For me, the practical element is essential. Knowing the theory is one thing. Feeling confident enough to use it when a young person asks an unexpected or difficult question is another. One of the most valuable aspects of the training was the diversity of people in the room. Different professional backgrounds, experiences and perspectives created a great environment for discussion.
The Sexuality Connect project highlights something I believe is fundamental to supporting young people: we don't create safer communities simply by giving young people more information. We also need adults around them who feel confident having open, respectful and informed conversations. Youth workers, educators and other professionals don't need to be sexuality experts. But they do need the confidence to listen, recognise when a young person needs support, challenge misinformation, respect boundaries and know when and where to signpost for further help. When adults can have these conversations without embarrassment, judgement or fear, young people are more likely to feel that they can ask questions and seek support when they need it.
By equipping the people who work with young people with knowledge, practical tools and confidence, we can help create environments where young people are better supported to navigate relationships, sexuality and digital life in healthy, informed and respectful ways.
I am grateful to KEHSIA for the opportunity to contribute to the Sexuality Connect project, to Constanza Gori at Donnexstrada who joined me to share her expertise and to everyone who took part so openly and thoughtfully.
If you, your organisation or school would like to know more about training and sessions please get in touch.
The full Sexuality Connect training is available on :(https://www.youtube.com/@Sexualityconnect).
