Trauma-Informed Comprehensive Sexual Health Education

According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, one out of every four children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior. It’s important that we bring a trauma-informed approach to all aspects of our work with youth, and Comprehensive Sexual Health Education (CSHE) is no exception. Below are some tips and resources for infusing a trauma-informed approach into your CSHE curriculum and conversations.

What is Trauma?

SAMHSA describes trauma as “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.” In general, traumatic events may be categorized into four types: acute, chronic, complex, or historical. Individuals, families, and communities—especially those who have been historically and intentionally excluded and those who experience historical, political, systemic, structural, and institutional impacts—may experience multiple types of traumatic events over the course of their lifetimes.

Common Responses to Trauma

All responses to trauma are valid. Even if two people experience the exact same event, they will likely respond in different ways due to a variety of factors including their personal histories, intersecting identities with the traumatic event(s), access to resources and support, and their personalities. As caring adults, one way to support youth is to educate ourselves about trauma, be prepared with appropriate support and resources, and create trauma-informed spaces.

While common responses to trauma may emphasize individual experience, it’s important to remember that neither trauma nor healing happen in isolation. As healing-centered approaches to trauma remind us, we experience trauma and healing collectively. In the midst of potentially traumatic events, there are many factors that can enhance a young person’s resilience, which is the ability to recover and effectively adapt after a traumatic experience. Research on resilience continues to show us that our capacity for resilience is dependent upon our “connections to other people and systems…through relationships and other processes.” This is good news for those of us in schools and youth serving organizations, since we can create strong, safe, and positive relationships with young people. Our commitment to providing CSHE is one way that we can foster an environment that encourages resilience by emphasizing autonomy, safety, and connection to supportive resources.

Trauma-Informed CSHE

Sometimes, the CSHE curricula we use or are exposed to lacks a trauma-informed approach. For example, curricula may center white bodies and narratives; emphasize shame, danger, and risk; focus on refusal skills rather than affirmative consent; or lack gender and sexual diversity. Additionally, some topics may be especially sensitive for students, including body image, peer and dating relationships, dating violence/assault, sexual orientation, gender identity, and cultural worldviews.

For example, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and we may be having more discussions on this topic. When discussing consent and sexual assault, we should consider how our instruction may impact someone in the class who has experienced sexual assault. If our discussion includes statements that are victim-blaming or heavy with shaming language, it is very likely that young person may experience additional pain. We should approach the topic of consent and sexual assault with an emphasis on everyone’s right to bodily autonomy, the importance of affirmative consent, and the fact that sexual assault is never the victim’s fault. We can be informed about our local resources and be ready to respond to any young person seeking support.

What exactly does it mean to be trauma-informed? SAMHSA demonstrates the importance of the Four R’s, stating, “a program, organization, or system that is trauma-informed realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery; recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system; and responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices, and seeks to actively resist re-traumatization.” As we seek to integrate the Four R’s in our CSHE instruction, there are six key principles that can guide our action and inform our approach.

Six Key Principles of a Trauma-Informed Approach

Safety is the foundation of any trauma-informed approach. Creating physical, emotional, and psychological safety is of utmost importance, and we can do our best to create safety before, during, and after CSHE instruction.
Trustworthiness and Transparency are essential to building and maintaining relationships of safety and connection. We can do this by creating a culture of openness and honesty and doing our best to create environments that are consistent and prepare young people for changes in the environment. This requires a dedication to intentionality on the part of instructors and leaders across an organization.
Peer Support is critical so that the learning process is one of mutuality and community. Not only do we want young people to connect with their peers, we also want adult instructors to connect with and support one another in creating a culture of trauma-informed CSHE.
Collaboration and Mutuality is about working with learners to create an environment of mutual respect in which student experiences are reflected and honored in the learning space. Wherever possible, we can create opportunities for student leadership and collaboration, allowing shared ownership in learning.
Empowerment, Voice and Choice reflects our ongoing commitment to honoring the power and resilience that each person brings to our CSHE spaces. We can create opportunities for young people to speak the truth about their experiences and empower them to make decisions in collaboration with the trusted adults in their lives.
Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues should be considered when creating and engaging our CSHE spaces. Our goal is to move beyond stereotypes and biases based on race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., and actively integrate instruction that is anti-racist, inclusive of all genders, and represents varied sexual orientations so that all students are represented.

As you consider these six key principles, how might you embody these in your teaching of CSHE? Each classroom and organization is unique and you know your students best. If you’d like support in making your CSHE facilitation and lessons more trauma-informed, please let us know and we’d be happy to help!

Resources for Additional Learning