opening photo AL

Albania has made significant strides in introducing health and sex education in its educational system since 1995, placing the country ahead of other Eastern European countries. Despite active pushback from conservative segments of society and obstacles to adequate funding, Albania has been overall successful in institutionalizing age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education as part of the curriculum for 10- to 18-year-olds in Albanian schools.

THE WORK OF LOCAL ORGANISATIONS Albania

The biggest source of information on sexual and reproductive health for young Albanians is the free online portal Jotabu. The portal delivers timely, in-depth information on a whole spectrum of topics from menstruation and pregnancy to STIs and how to prevent them.

The portal is realized with help from “Voice of the Youth” – a non-profit association, whose main mission is to mobilize and empower young people through awareness, information, advocacy, and lobbying services in the fields of education, care, health, and employment.

Surecheck collaborated on and funded the “Promotion of Safe from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence platform among young people in Albania” project, which resulted in three one-day workshops aimed at 18–24-year-olds. The workshops were organized and held by the Albanian Centre for Population and Development in a hybrid model utilizing both online and offline resources.

In total, 80 young people participated in the workshops and learned about their rights and how to prevent sexual gender-based violence. One of the objectives of the project was to reach as many people from different social groups and backgrounds, which it did successfully as people from the rural areas of Prograde made up a high percentage of participants.

The workshop leader detailed various human rights with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive health rights and broke down the different forms of gender-based violence and how to identify them. These presentations were accompanied with case studies and a special session targeted to men.

the many benefits of sex ed
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