Doing ‘IT‘

In this episode Anne from SHV explains some key guiding principles to consider when delivering Relationships and Sexuality Education. This episode will be featured in a poster submission at the World Association for Sexual Health Conference in 2025.

Resources:

UNESCO Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (2018). Victorian Curriculum, Australian Curriculum, Resilience Rights and Respectful Relationships Initiative, Victorian Sexuality and Consent Education Policy, Victorian Child Safe Standards, Victorian LGBTIQA+ Student Support Policy. Gender Spectrum. Victorian Women’s Health Atlas,  Australian Bureau of Statistics. The 7th National Survey of AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY STUDENTS AND SEXUAL HEALTH 2021

In this episode Leon from SHV talks to Bec from Evolve Education about Artificial Intelligence and deepfakes. They discuss how this technology impacts the lives and sexual interactions of young people.    Resources: The eSafety website, The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, Kerrin Bradfield’s Respect Collective (Bradfield, K. (2022). Image Based Abuse: Recognition, Education and Healing. Sexology in Practice Symposium, 24-25 September, online.), Addressing deepfake image-based abuse, 

In this episode, you will hear from the Sexual Health Victoria Schools, Community and Disability Education team.  

Listen to the team discuss why they do this work, what are some of the questions young people ask in these classes and hear the team tell some of their favourite stories from the classroom. You’ll get to hear more from the team on the podcast hosting episodes in the new year.  

SHV run professional development for teachers, youth workers and medical professionals. We have many free resources on our website. We also have free teachin...

In this episode Leon from SHV talks about embedding a whole school approach to Relationships and Sexuality Education. SHV are working in partnership with a secondary school in Melbourne’s Northwestern growth corridor. Leon unpacks some of the challenges and learnings from working with a large, new, multicultural school.

Resources:

Some supporting policies to inform a Relationships and Sexuality Education program are: Child Safe Standards; Sexuality and Consent Education Policy; LGBTIQA+ support policy. See Strategic Partnerships Program.  More information about SHV @ shvic.org.au.

In this episode we speak to performers Dean Arcuri & Jacob Thomas. Sometimes they run Drag Storytime events. Listen to Dean and Jacob describe the many ways that these events bring community, performance and storytelling together in a safe inclusive way for all.

Resources:

See  Dean at Dean Arcuri and LinkedIn. Find Jacob Thomas on LinkedIn. See Rainbow Community Angels for events and news.

For more information about SHV @ shvic.org.au.

In this episode we talk to Krushnadevsinh Ravalji (Kano). Kano is the Youth Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission. We ask him about how educators can ensure that Relationships and Sexuality Education is inclusive and respectful for the multicultural communities that we work with.

Resources:

See more about Kano at the Third Culture. Find Kano on LinkedIn. See Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health for information and many translated health resources.

For more information about SHV @ shvic.org.au.

In this episode we speak to the 2023 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations, Imogen Kane. This role saw Imogen travel Australia to meet with young people to find out what was important to them. Hear what Imogen learned about the generational divide, sexuality and relationships and the importance of listening.

Resources:

See Imogen Kane and the UN listening tour. For help learning about the programs that YP are using see the eSafety guide.  Youth Affairs Council Victoria has some great information about youth participation and co-design.  Find Sexual Health Victoria at shvic.org.au. 

In this episode we speak to Anita Brown Major about the sexual response cycle. As an occupational therapist, Anita uses her understanding of physiology to help people understand their own bodies, including what happens during a sexual experience. Sexual response and pleasure is the part of sexuality education that most adults did not receive and is still often not discussed in education. Anita helps us understand more.

Resources:

Find out more about Anita Brown Major at Thrive Rehab. See online orders for a Cliterate model.  See SHV sexual and reproductive anatomy illustrations. Listen to episode #14 T...

The everybody education team at Sexual Health Victoria sometimes get questions about how we discuss gender, sex and sexuality in a classroom. In this episode SHV expert educator Chrissy is going to talk through what we say and why we say it.

Resources:

See Victorian Child Safe Standards and Victoria Department of Education LGBTIQ Student Support Policy.  See research Writing themselves in 4. Advocacy organisation Intersex Human Rights. See Minus 18 for resources and Inclusive Language Guide. Transcend Australia support families, parents and carers of gender diverse young people.

Professor Michael Flood describes types of masculinities that can be harmful to boys, men and the people around them. Listen for a discussion on engaging men and boys to address gender inequality and gender based violence.

In this episode, Professor Michael Flood describes types of masculinities that can be harmful to boys, men and the people around them. He also details the benefits of engaging men and boys in efforts to address gender inequality and gender based violence.

Resources:

See more about Prof Michael Flood. Read more articles from Michael at xyonline. Michael...

Discord is a social chat app designed initially for the gaming community, now extending to a wide variety of interest groups. In this episode listen to Discord Senior Policy Director, Savannah Badalich explain what Discord does to keep users safe. Part of keeping young people safe online is understanding the platforms they use.

Resources:

DISCORD and DISCORD Safety centre. See eSafety for reporting eSafety Guide for games apps and social media.  For more information about SHV @ shvic.org.au.

In this episode Laura Crozier and SHV educator Chrissy talk about their own experiences of finding help after being sexually assaulted in high school. Both Chrissy and Laura speak about the vital role of the welfare teams at their schools and the difficultly in disclosing abuse to parents.

Resources:

Laura works for Youth Affairs Council Victoria. Hear more of Laura’s story on Growing Up Clueless. Sexual Assault Service Victoria is the peak body for specialist sexual assault services and harmful sexual behaviour services. For more information about SHV @ shvic.org.au.

In this episode Dr Jennifer Power talks about the 2022 National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health from Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at LaTrobe University.

Dr Power talks through some key statistics from the survey as well as providing perspective on why we are so keen to know how much sex young people are having.

Resources:

See Dr Jennifer Power, LaTrobe University profile. See lots of research from Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society. See 7th National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health...

In this episode Dr Jacqui Hendriks talks about her recent research. Jacqui has led the First national survey of Australian parents and their attitudes towards relationships and sexuality education in schools.

Resources:

See Dr Jacqui Hendriks Curtain University bio. See research: Support for school-based relationships and sexual health education: a national survey of Australian parents. For more information about SHV @ shvic.org.au.

In this episode, two families share their stories of making babies using Assisted Reproductive Technology. Sue and Linda explain some of the process and how they decided to talk to their children about it. Their children, Emily and Elsie, talk about what they understand about how they were conceived.

Resources:

SHV have free teacher resources to assist with classroom teaching of Assisted Reproduction. These were developed with the support of Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA)

For more about SHV, go to @ shvic.org.au.

In this episode, chair of Intersex Human Rights Dr Agli Zavros-Orr speaks of their advocacy work and their lived experience as a person born with an intersex variation. Young people often ask us how bodies can be different. Agli helps explain the diversity of human sex characteristics.

Resources:

See more at Intersex Human Rights Australia. Find Agli’s research at research gate.

See book Raising Rosie for families.

For more about SHV @ shvic.org.au.

Part 7 of 7. eSafety. Australia’s Online Safety Regulator.

This series of podcasts is produced with the support of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

We will look closely at how young people might engage with sexual content online and how parents and carers can get involved in this discussion.

In this episode Sharon Trotter Education Manager of Education, Prevention and Inclusion talks about the scope of eSafety and the role that they have in prevention of harm online.

See eSafety at https://www.esafety.gov.au/. Sexual Health Victoria at https://shvi...

Part 6 of 7. Pornography.

This series of podcasts is produced with the support of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

We will look closely at how young people might engage with sexual content online and how parents and carers can get involved in this discussion.

In this episode Dr Zahra Stardust talks about the cultural context of pornography and how consent is vital for its production and distribution. Vanessa Hamilton speaks about her experiences in talking to families about young people, sex and pornography.

See bio for Zahra Stardust. See Talking the...

Part 5 of 7. Sexting.

This series of podcasts is produced with the support of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

We will look closely at how young people might engage with sexual content online and how parents and carers can get involved in this discussion.

In this episode Dr. Kath Albury and SHV Health Promotion Officer Zara, discuss the language and context of young people sharing sexual pictures.

See Youth Law Australia for legal information. See Dr Kath Albury, Swinburne University.

See eSafety at https://www.esafety.gov.au/. Sexual H...

Part 4 of 7. What is grooming?

This series of podcasts is produced with the support of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

We will look closely at how young people might engage with sexual content online and how parents and carers can get involved in this discussion.

In this episode Detective Superintendent Jayne Crossling talks about what grooming is and how the police go about education and investigations.

Grooming can be reported through Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. Also AFP Child Protection Operations (CPO) team. See also Think U Know educational...

Part 3 of 7. Inappropriate.

This series of podcasts is produced with the support of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

We will look closely at how young people might engage with sexual content online and how parents and carers can get involved in this discussion.

In this episode we will discuss the word inappropriate. Greg from eSafety talks through the classification system and Fida talks about the appropriateness of RSE in faith based schools.

More about the Australian classification system. See information about Fida Sanjakdar.

See eSafety at https://www.e...

Part 2 of 7. Curriculum.

This series of podcasts is produced with the support of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

We will look closely at how young people might engage with sexual content online and how parents and carers can get involved in this discussion.

In this episode listen to educators talk about how the curriculum includes opportunities to deliver sessions around esafety and sexual content.

Find the Resilience Rights and Respectful Relationships curriculum on FUSE.

See more about Bec Martin and Evolve Education.

See eSafety at https...

Part 1 of 7. What is the Problem?

This series of podcasts is produced with the support of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

We will look closely at how young people might engage with sexual content online and how parents and carers can get involved in this discussion.

In this episode listen to parents, a wellbeing coordinator and eSafety talk about why this is a conversation you need to have with the young people in your life.

Find out more about eSafety at esafety.gov.au

Find out more about...

In this episode Sarah from marketing talks about our new name: Sexual Health Victoria. 

Thanks for all the support over the last two years of Doing 'IT'. There is lots more to come in 2022. Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions. doingit@shvic.org.au. 

In this episode CEO of Inherited, Sarah Powell talks about the importance of breast awareness. Pink Hope is a preventative health hub designed to connect and inform people about cancer risk. Young people frequently ask questions about breasts during puberty. So, what could we tell them about breast cancer risk? 

Resources:

See Inherited (formerly Pink Hope) for more information https://www.inheritedcancers.org.au/ . Find information on family history and cancer at the Cancer Council. For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au.

In this Episode FPV Schools and Community Manager Brendan Bailey speaks about the principals of trauma informed practice. We know that we deliver sessions to students, teachers and parents who have been impacted by traumatic experiences. So how can we safely deliver information about sex and sexuality with this in mind.

Resources:

See Berry St Education Model. For more information about FPV including educational resources go to  fpv.org.au.

In this episode Dr Karin Hammarberg explains what happens when people need medical help to make a baby. We talk about what has changed and what the future of fertility treatments might be.

Resources:

More about Dr Karin Hammarberg, Monash University. See VARTA for information about ART, including how to discuss this with children. FPV  teaching resources and  self paced online learning module teach ART to school students. For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au.

In this episode we speak with Bec Martin from Evolve Education. Evolve delivers cyber safety information to school aged children and families. Bec has worked extensively as a teacher with primary-aged children to support age-appropriate Digital Wellbeing and Cybersafety. Anne and Bec discuss the links between Relationships and Sexuality Education and Cybersafety to navigate the likelihood that young people find sexual content online. 

Resources:  

See Evolve Education. Bec recommends the Beacon App. Resources, information, reporting and research see eSafety Commisioner also safety guide . Simple, state based legal information at Youth Law Australia. For more information about FPV @ fpv

In this episode we speak to author Nevo Zisin. Nevo’s new book The Pronoun Lowdown is a simple guide to the changing language around gender. Nevo makes it really clear how and why this is so important to the trans and gender diverse community.  

Resources: 

Find more information about Nevo Zisin and their book The Pronoun Lowdown. Minus 18 for support and information. Documentary Disclosure about trans representation in film. For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au. 

In this episode, Cath from 1800MYOPTIONS talks us through the common questions people call with about sexual health. This is a fantastic service to know about and make sure the young people in your life know about too.

Resources:  

Visit www.1800myoptions.org.au for contact details, and information. Call 1800MYOPTIONS on 1800 696 784. Or For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au.  

18000MYOPTIONS has answered over 14000 calls from people seeking advice and referrals about sexual and reproductive health.

Many callers want to know more about pregnancy options. In this episode, Cath tells us what people want to know when they have questions about abortion.

Resources:  

Visit www.1800myoptions.org.au for contact details, and information. Call 1800MYOPTIONS on 1800 696 784. Or For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au.  

Over the next 3 episodes I will be talking to Emily and Cath who work with 1800MYOPTIONS.  

1800 My Options is a free, confidential and independent phone service that provides information and pathways to sexual and reproductive health services in Victoria – such as abortion, contraception, pregnancy options and STI testing.

In this episode, Emily tells us exactly what callers want to know about contraception.

Resources:  

Visit www.1800myoptions.org.au for contact details, and information. Call 1800MYOPTIONS on 1800 696 784. Or For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au.  

In this episode we deep dive into the navigating the world of sexual consent. We discuss how effective communication skills positively impact pleasurable experiences and what that means both emotionally and legally for young people. We discuss with Sue our expert educator how consent applies to real world experiences and how it can have devastating outcomes if not clearly understood and defined. This is an episode not to miss.

Resources: 

Testimonies and petition from Chanel Contos at Teach us Consent.  Educate 2 Empower Publishing for picture books on bodily autonomy. Blue seat studios  Consent Is Like A Cup O...

Here at FPV, we are frequently asked about the use of menstrual cups, so we invited Dr Sara, our resident GP, to share her insights. In this episode, we discuss the rise in popularity of menstrual cups as people seek new environmentally friendly ways to manage their periods.

Resources:

Lunette sells menstrual cups. They also have a youtube channel with short videos about menstrual cups.  Diva Cups also have website and information. Also see Diva Cup smaller sizes marketed for under 18’s. See Choice article and abc daily life about menstrual cups. For clinic appointments and...

In this episode we talk to triple J presenter and author Bridget Hustwaite.  Bridget shares her experience of endometriosis. It can take a long time to be diagnosed with this chronic disease as it is much misunderstood. We talk about her book ‘How To Endo’ and her insta community ’Endogram’ to help take you on the journey.

Resources: 

Bridget has a webpage for more information about her including social media links. How to Endo is available in bookstores. Bridget's Instagram community Endogram. Bridget also mentioned QENDO and Endoactive. Also see Endometriosis Australia for advice and information. For more informati...

In this episode, Olivia talks about her experience of being one of two mums in a proud rainbow family. She shares her experiences on starting a family, growing up, and how the marriage equality bill has impacted her family. 

Resources: 

Australian Institute of Family Studies for research around same sex parented families.  Victorian Pride Centre is a hub for a range of LGBTIQ+ focused organisations. Minus 18 for young LGBTIQ+ people and their families. For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au. 

In this episode comedian, Simon Taylor discusses his book ‘One Night Stand’. Simon candidly shares his real-life experience of a casual sexual encounter followed by an unplanned pregnancy. We discuss relationships, sexual health, contraception and what he wishes to tell his younger self.   

Resources: 

Simon Taylor online at simontaylorfunnyboy.com  for upcoming shows, social media, book sales and contact details.  See FPV, for contraception options and judgement-free sexual health information  fpv.org.au. 

In this episode Professor Kath Albury draws on her research to discuss ethical considerations around young people exchanging sexual pictures. Kath discusses how online sexual behaviour, the law and adult expectations do not always match.

Resources:

See Professor Kath Albury on Swinburne University website. Relevant research papers are Young People and Sexting in Australia: ethics, representation and the law'(2013)  & Safety, Risk and Wellbeing on Dating Apps. Also see eSafety Commisioner on sexting & sextortion.  For more information about FPV @ fpv.org.au.

In this episode FPV educator Andrea talks about children seeing pornography. It is usual for young people to be curious about bodies and sex and they sometimes look to the internet to provide this information. Parents and carers often tell us that they don’t know how or when to start a conversation about pornography, even if they are worried about the potential harms of seeing it. Listen for some ideas. 

Resources:  

Esafety  for research and resources about pornography. Esafety advice for parents / carers on talking about pornography. See research at Australian Institute of Family Studies. Its Time We Talk...

In this episode Andrew from Victoria Legal Aid explains the legalities of sexting. We talk through some scenarios that young people often ask about. Understanding sexting and the law is a great way to get this conversation started at home.  Note: laws vary between states. Victorian laws are explained in this episode.  Resources: Victoria Legal Aid for simple explanations of the law. VLA education kit for teachers called ‘Sex, young people and the law’. Youth Law Australia for all states and territories in Australia. The eSafety Commissioner for reporting image-based abuse & illegal and harmful content. Victoria Police for information on reporting a sexual cr...