Did Your Family Talk to you About Sex?
People get their information about sex from many places. For many of us, our families were the first people to talk to us about sex. For others of us, our families didn’t talk about sex, and we learned about it in other ways. In this video, people talk about the different ways they got information about sex when they were growing up.
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Find reliable sexual health info, tips on how to talk about this stuff, classroom-based educators, and one-to-one supports at our Resources for Supporters.
Sex Sense Hotline:
- 1-800-739-7367
- Or 604-731-7803 in Metro Vancouver
- Sex Sense Email Service
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Why We Talk About…
Where to Get Information About Sex
It’s easy to type “sex” into Google. It can be harder to get reliable, accurate information about sex. Picking the right person or resource to get our information from is important. Our videos have accurate information on sex. Our videos also discuss who we can ask if we have other questions about sex. (We also discuss who we shouldn’t ask about sex.) You can also find services that provide accurate, agenda-free sexual health information on our Resources page.
The Role of Supporters
Family members, friends, and staff all have a role to play in providing sexual health support for people with cognitive disabilities. How we show up for people can make things easier for them, or much harder.
In a 2017, a research team in the UK interviewed people with cognitive disabilities about their experience with romantic relationships, dating, marriage etc. Every single person interviewed who was in a romantic relationship of some sort could point to specific ways their support network had helped them find and / or maintain that relationship. Likewise, people interviewed who were frustrated at not finding a relationship often pointed to ways in which people in their support network had stood in their way.
As well, studies around the world show that people with cognitive disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing sexual abuse. Having a person or people in their lives with whom they can have frank conversations about sexual health topics is a key factor in reducing their risk of abuse.
While it may not be easy or comfortable to engage with folks we support around these topics, the benefits can be profound. And the good news is, we don’t have to be perfect at this – or even feel confident at this – to make a big difference.
Want to be in a Real Talk video shoot?
We’re always looking for participants to be part of our next video shoot, where folks have conversations on dating, love, relationships and sex.