The sexuality of all women, including those with or without intellectual disabilities, embraces more than
just the knowledge about body parts and sexual behaviour. Women’s sexuality includes life
experiences of appropriate and inappropriate touching, privacy and appropriate conversations, different
types of relationships and competence in sexuality education. Therefore, sexuality is one way in which
women define themselves, as it is an extension of self-esteem that can also influence interaction with
others.
The main aim of this study was to describe the effect of a two-day, custom-designed sexuality and
relationship education training programme by considering the policy system, the stakeholder system
and the pedagogical system, in order to change the knowledge and attitudes of caregivers who are
working within residential care facilities with women with intellectual disabilities positively. This will
enable caregivers to view education and relationship building as an integral part of these women’s
lives. This study employed a three-phase mixed method research design. Phase 1 focused on the
qualitative data obtained from focus groups (N=30) and how it informed the design and considerations
of the training programme. Phase 2 focused on the development and pilot testing of the training
programme (N=20). Phase 3 focused on the quantitative data and the main study, which involved a pretest
post-test group design (N=31), during which all participants were trained using the customdesigned
training programme, aSeRT (Sexuality and Relationship Training Programme). Significant
positive outcomes were shown after caregivers participated in the aSeRT within the results, when their
pre-training and post-training mean scores were compared. The six participant variables (awareness of
the sexuality policy at the facility; church attendance; work experience; whether they had spoken about
sexuality to the women with intellectual disability before; their knowledge about whether women with
intellectual disability had been exposed to sexuality training before; and their age) did not statistically
impact significantly on their knowledge and attitude change. Satisfaction ratings were positive and
participants commented favourably on the planning of the training, the training material and the method
of training. The findings from this research provide recommendations on how further studies can
continue to add to the existing body of knowledge, emphasising that sexuality education can be
integrated with social stories for women with intellectual disabilities and implemented in other residential
care facilities.
Die seksualiteit van alle vroue, insluitend diegene met of sonder intellektuele gestremdhede, behels
meer as net kennis oor liggaamsdele en seksuele gedrag. Vroulike seksualiteit sluit die lewenskennis
van gepaste en onvanpaste aanraking, privaatheid en toepaslike gesprekke, verskillende tipe
verhoudings, en seksualiteitsopvoedingsvaardighede in. Daarom is seksualiteit een manier waarop
vroue hulself definieer, aangesien dit 'n uitbreiding van hul selfbeeld is wat ook hul interaksie met ander
mense kan beïnvloed.
Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om die effek van 'n 2-dag, doelontwerpte onderwys- en
opleidingsprogram oor seksualiteit en verhoudings te beskryf, met inagneming van die beleidstelsel, die
stelsel van belanghebbendes, sowel as die opvoedkundige stelsel, om sodoende die kennis en
houdings van versorgers wat by residensiële sorgfasiliteite met vroue met intellektuele gestremdhede
werk, te verander sodat hul seksualiteitsopvoeding en verhoudingsbou as ‘n integrale deel van hierdie
vrouens se lewens sal beskou. Hierdie studie volg 'n drie-fase meervoudige-metode navorsingsontwerp
waarin daar in Fase 1 gefokus is op die verkryging van kwalitatiewe data uit fokusgroepe (N=30) en
hoe om hierdie inligting te gebruik om die ontwerp van die opleidingsprogram te rig. Fase 2 het op die
ontwikkeling en proeftoetsing van die opleidingsprogram gefokus (N=20), en Fase 3 op die
kwantitatiewe data en die hoofstudie, wat 'n voor-toets na-toets groep ontwerp behels het (N=31)
waartydens alle deelnemers opgelei is in die gebruik van die doelontwerpe opleidingsprogram, aSeRT
(Seksualiteit en Verhoudingsopleidingsprogram). Resultate het beduidende positiewe uitkomste getoon
vir versorgers wat aan die aSeRT deelgeneem het, toe hul voor- en na-opleiding gemiddelde tellings
vergelyk is. Die volgende ses deelnemerveranderlikes, (naamlik bewustheid van die seksualiteit by die
fasiliteit; kerkbywoning; werksondervinding; of hulle voorheen met die vroue met intellektuele
gestremdheid oor seksualiteit gepraat het; hul voorafkennis oor of vroue met intellektuele gestremdheid
voorheen blootgestel is aan seksualiteitsopleiding; en hul ouderdom), het nie ‘n statistiese
betekenisvolle impak op hul kennis en houdingsverandering gehad nie. Tevredenheidgraderings was
positief en deelnemers se kommentaar was gunstig oor die beplanning van die opleiding, die
opleidingsmateriaal en die opleidingsmetode. Die bevindinge van hierdie navorsing bied voorstelle van
hoe toekomstige studies op die huidige kennis rakende seksualiteitsopvoeding kan voortbou en
beklemtoon dit dat seksualiteitsopvoeding met sosiale stories geïntegreer moet word vir vroue met
intellektuele gestremdhede en in ander residensiële sorgfasiliteite geïmplementeer kan word.
