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Fiji, Dawasamu Hub

Achievement Report
September 2014
Health Awareness and Education

Let's talk about sex...
GVI facilitates sexual health workshops at Dawasamu Secondary School

Objectives
Facilitate impartial sexual education workshops with an emphasis on relationships and
consent
Raise awareness of available contraception choices
Provide condoms to protect the community against pregnancy and infection
Contribute to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to improve sexual and
maternal health, and GVI's long term goal to improve community health.


Issues identified
Fiji has the highest number of Chlamydia cases in the Pacific. The central division of Fiji has high
rates of sexual violence, teenage pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies and an increasing trend in the
number of reported sexually transmitted infections.
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Since 2007 the central division has maintained
the highest level of STI's in Fiji.
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As well as a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections, Fiji also has low participation and
poor access to quality reproductive health services particularly in rural communities. Only 32% of
women (aged 15-49) use any form of contraception. In Fiji, sex before marriage is considered taboo
and, in many communities, a sin. As a result, young people are embarrassed to seek condoms
because of the stigma of being associated with promiscuous and irresponsible behaviour.
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1
Annual Report 2008. Ministry of Health, Fiji. 2008
2
The World Bank - Ministry of Education, Form 3 'Health Science', 2012
3
Millennium Development Goals: Fiji National Report. National Planning Office, Ministry of Finance and
National Planning, 2004.

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In Secondary School, Family Life lessons advocate that abstinence is the best form of protection
against STIs. The lessons are not impartial and rely heavily on Fijian gender-based norms, traditions
and stereotypes. Abstinence does not always work and many lessons do not support or prepare
expecting teenagers, but instead have had a tendency to alienate and humiliate . These trends have
resulted in the development of an inaccurate perception about 'healthy' relationships and consent
amongst some students.


In order to assess current understanding and knowledge of Sex Education a confidential survey was
carried out with Form 5-7 (16-19yrs) at Dawasamu Secondary School

GVI responded to this by working closely with the
community nurse and with volunteers to balance
culturally appropriate lessons with unbiased
information and critical thinking. GVI volunteers
facilitated lessons which encouraged pupils to
think critically about relationships, consent and
sexual equality.

The lessons featured a 'CHOICE' kit, which
displayed a broad range of contraceptives. Pupils
were introduced to the different options and were
then split into groups to produce a one-minute
script for a TV advert promoting their preferred
method of contraception. Groups were invited to
present their advert to the rest of the class, either
by reading the script aloud or acting out the
advert.

The 'CHOICE' kit also contained a condom demonstrator. The class identified the three main things
to check for before using a condom: expiry date, damage to the packet and quality/kite mark. Pupils
then used a demonstrator to practice the application of condoms - some pupils even tried it
blindfolded.


Key results
59% of pupils are sexually active
14% used contraception when having
intercourse
27% said that they felt pressure to have
sex
85% felt it was better to abstain from
sex
22% said it was ok to force sex on a girl
70% believed men needed more sex than
women
55% said that contraception was a
woman's responsibility


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The aim of the workshops was to address issues identified through the initial surveys collected from
the pupils. The overall learning outcomes included;

Types of contraception (and the pros and cons of each method)
Advice on using contraception
Sexually Transmitted Infections (including symptoms & treatment)
Consent & Sexual Abuse
Support available for young people (sexual health, pregnancy & sexual abuse related)

The DSS pupils that attended the workshops were eager to learn about the subject matter and
participated fully in all tasks set. The contraception presentations given by the pupils demonstrated
a good understanding of the learning outcomes. GVI also received very positive feedback from the
teaching staff at DSS: "The students really enjoyed the interactive side of the workshops. Being able
to see the difference between different forms of contraception and learn the correct way to put on a
condom on was very helpful" - Mrs Kunadua, Family Life teacher

Pupils asked some very compelling questions throughout the workshops such as; is there a
contraceptive injection or coil for men? Can you use more than one types of contraceptive
simultaneously? If a pregnant woman has an STI will this be transferred to the baby? Many of the
questions raised focused on three main themes: perceived taboos, STI symptoms and concerns
surrounding virginity.

GVI intends to lead further sexual health workshops based on these questions, which we hope will
address more of the pupils questions. After the success of these initial workshops, the content of
the session will now be adapted for delivery to younger pupils and Womens groups in the
Dawasamu District. It is our hope that these workshops will give young adults the tools to make
informed decisions about their sexual health.

GVI Fiji


For more information on GVI projects in Fiji please visit www.gvi.co.uk
For more information on our global impact visit www.gviworld.com
To make a donation to our Education Enrichment projects in Fiji please visit
www.gvi.org for more details