Sexual behaviour: The diminishing role of religion in Irish sex education and the increasing focus on health promotion strategies will be one of the themes of a two-day conference on human sexuality, which will take place in Cork city next week.
As part of the conference, which will explore the biological, psychological and social aspects of people's sexuality, social policy lecturer from University College Cork, Liz Kiely, will explore the changes that have taken place in sex education in Ireland in recent decades.
"One particular change, for example, is the increasing demand on young people to regulate their own sexual behaviours in line with health-promoting objectives, rather than relying on religious education for moral guidance," she said.
"I also hope to address some of the inadequacies of our current sex education system, including its failure to acknowledge different sexual orientations among young people and to highlight different types of sexual experiences, as opposed to focusing purely on the dangers of penetrative sex."
Hosted by the Sexual Health Centre in Cork, the conference will bring together professionals from a wide range of disciplines and will include a number of international speakers with expertise in the areas of sexual education and sexual health.
Key themes of the conference will include a discussion on the human sexual response and on sexuality through the life-cycle by Swedish professor in psychology and sexology, Lars-Gösta Dahlöf, who has developed a comprehensive sex education and training programme for health professionals in Sweden.
Clinical psychologist Sandra Van den Eynde from the Flemish expert centre on sexual health and HIV, Sensoa, will look at the behavioural and situational influences on sex, while Dr Paula Mayock from the Children's Research Centre in Trinity College Dublin will explore the issue of risk taking, particularly in relation to sex.
The conference, which will be attended by youth workers, teachers and social workers, among others, will also feature video presentations providing personal accounts from people of different ages and sexualities.
• Understanding human sexuality: biological, psychological and social perspectives will take place on December 1st and 2nd at the Clarion Hotel in Cork. To book, phone 021-4276676 or visit www.sexualhealthcentre.com.