BodyTalk: A reproductive health curriculum for youth ages 8-19 in restrictive global settings—by Leslie Massicotte, contributor: Givan Hinds
The BodyTalk Curriculum is an interactive, youth-centered, culturally-sensitive teaching manual used to educate youth ages 8 to 19 on sexual and reproductive health in restrictive, low-resource settings. The 9-week curriculum covers the following topics: reproductive anatomy, puberty and hygiene, healthy relationships, communication and consent, gender equity, STIs and HIV/AIDS, pregnancy and parenting, and contraception. The activity-based lessons can be incorporated into classrooms or implemented in full at schools, youth centers, health centers, or a variety of other settings.
“Sexual Education for Youth in Rwanda: A Case Study of Methods, Effectiveness, and Response at the Kimisagara One Stop Youth Center”—by Leslie Massicotte
In examining the increasing influence of states in contemporary society, this paper explores the concept of biopower, particularly in the area of sexual health, as a critical control mechanism that solidifies state legitimacy. By turning control mechanisms inwards, into minds and physical bodies, the state utilizes its monopoly over the legitimate use of symbolic violence to convince citizens of the assumed universality of structures and mindsets that solidify state power. Reproductive health has emerged as a crucial site of consolidating state control, perpetuating the assumed necessity of state regulation of bodies for the betterment of the nation. In Rwanda, with a need for a secure, controlled country in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, myriad programs developed to promote these state priorities. This paper examines the impact of the state on reproductive health programs in Rwanda, using a Ministry of Health-sponsored youth center called Maison des Jeunes de Kimisagara as a case study. It reviews the purposeful choices made about what information to distribute regarding sexual and reproductive health and the resulting impacts of those choices.
“Violence of the Name: How Naming the M23 Rebel has perpetuated conflict in the Eastern Congo”—by Leslie Massicotte, published in the Undergraduate Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies 1(1): 80-92.
This paper seeks to give a background and context to the emergence of the M23 rebel group in the eastern Kivu region of the DRC. I use primarily the work of social theorist Judith Butler to critically unpack the M23s existence and examine the reasons behind the perpetuation of the Kivu conflict. I argue that the concept of naming the M23 as a rebel group drastically limits policy approaches that seek to end the violence in that the label of rebel implicates the designated actors as illegitimate and irrational soldiers. With the M23 relegated to a realm of illegality, and essentially not taken seriously, policy makers overlook crucial factors when attempting to address this conflict. I focus on one factor in particular: the rationale behind many DRC actors, like the M23, using violence as a means to survive amidst a perpetual condition of violence. This context deserves ample recognition in the pursuit of peace in the Kivu region.
Women’s Health Training, 2 hour workshop—by Leslie Massicotte
This two hour women’s health training workshop was developed for educating refugee women on reproductive health issues. The training is interactive and includes information on nutrition, women’s anatomy, women’s health care, sexually transmitted infections, and contraception options.
Want to learn more about sexual and reproductive health?
Check out these awesome resources:
For services and information: www.plannedparenthood.org.
For teens: www.sexetc.org.
To be trained as a sexuality educator: www.uua.org/re/owl.
