Beyond Sex Ed: Teaching Consent, Connection, and Healthy Relationships with Shafia Zaloom Content note: This conversation covers sexual violence prevention and consent education. It mentions suicidal ideation and eating disorders in passing, as risks Shafia says comprehensive sexuality education helps protect against, and it doesn't describe abuse. Shafia Zaloom has spent 30 years in schools teaching healthy sexuality and relationship education, and she's known to students as the consent lady. In this conversation with Jamie Forbes, she talks about why she wrote Getting Real About Sex Ed: What Today's Students Need, and what it takes to give teachers the sex ed they never got themselves. Shafia says kids can define consent, and what they're really asking is what it looks, sounds, and feels like on a Saturday night. Her answer is that sex ed is the foundation and not the ceiling, because the broader work is building skills for connection, which she describes as simply being close to other people. They also get into why teachers worry about their professional security when they teach this, why adults' silence tells kids something, and how a child who says "I'm not into hugs" in kindergarten can grow into an adult who can set a professional boundary. Shafia describes this kind of education as the preventative work when it comes to sexual violence, and she says it benefits all of us, including the adults who never received it. This episode is for teachers, school leaders, and parents who want concrete language for talking with young people about consent, relationships, and intimacy. Get Help Now Need Help? Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) (National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline) Free. Confidential. 24/7 About Shafia Zaloom. Shafia Zaloom, Author and Health Educator, is a health educator, consultant, author, and parent whose work centers on human development, community building, ethics and social justice. She has worked with thousands of children and their families as a teacher, coach, administrator, board member, and outdoor educator, and she has contributed articles to The New York Times and The Washington Post. She received the California statewide (CAHPERD) Health Teacher of the Year Award for 2021. Shafia's links Website: https://www.shafiazaloom.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shafiazaloom/Getting Real About Sex Ed: What Today's Students Need: https://www.shafiazaloom.com/getting-real-about-sex-edSex, Teens, and Everything in Between: https://www.shafiazaloom.com/sex-teens-and-everything-in-betweenAbout the show. These podcasts capture a range of topics related to sexual misconduct and abuse. Our goal with them is to help listeners understand sexual misconduct, societal and cultural norms and factors that impact behaviors and discuss ways we can reduce incidents and minimize trauma when incidents occur. Our guests include professional practitioners and individuals who have experience and opinions that we believe are valuable. Disclaimer: Learning Courage values a diversity of opinions, which sometimes means we have guests with perspectives and values that do not reflect those of our organization. If this was useful, follow the Learning Courage Podcast and share this episode with someone who works with young people.
