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Social Sciences
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Equity Interventions to Promote the Sexual Health of Young Adults
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Equity Interventions to Promote the Sexual Health of Young Adults

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1352

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cecilia M. Benoit

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
Interests: intersections of gender, class and Indigeneity; sexualities; health and human rights; evidence-based policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Andrea Mellor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Social Dimensions of Health Program, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
Interests: marginalized populations; intersectionality; structural and social dimensions of health; youth welfare; access to health services
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The stimulus for this Special Issue is to build on recent calls in a number of countries for policy changes to improve the sexual health of disadvantaged youth. Many young people around the globe live in environments shaped by constrained social conditions and restrictive norms that negatively impact their sexual autonomy and access to sexual education as well as safe and free sexual health supplies and caring health providers. Young people with disabilities, as well as those facing material hardship, poverty, insecure housing, multi-generational impacts of colonization, stigma and discrimination, are especially disadvantaged in regard to sexual rights and access to key resources. The focus of this Special Issue is on youth-focused equity research and policies that aim to change these harmful structural conditions limiting youth from realizing their full potential as sexual beings.

We invite empirical papers that report research highlighting the social factors that play a key role in predisposing young people to elevated risk for sexual health-related social disadvantages and discuss equity-centred interventions, programs, and policies that aim to change these circumstances. Papers that capture the diverse voices of young people in recommendations to improve their life chances and realize their capabilities related to sexuality are especially welcome, as are submissions from disadvantaged regions of the globe.

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Prof. Dr. Cecilia M. Benoit
Dr. Andrea Mellor
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • youth
  • diversity
  • sexual health
  • equity
  • policies

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 1197 KiB  
Article
“I Came Because I Knew It Was Geared Towards Queer People”: A Queer and Trans Youth-Led Workshop on Sexuality Education
by Moni Sadri and Vanessa Oliver
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(4), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14040202 - 25 Mar 2025
Viewed by 363
Abstract
This paper details how, in partnership with young people, community workshops centred on queer joy can offer queer and trans youth sexuality education (SE) that is relevant to their experiences, lived realities, and desires. In the data, young people discuss how tailored content, [...] Read more.
This paper details how, in partnership with young people, community workshops centred on queer joy can offer queer and trans youth sexuality education (SE) that is relevant to their experiences, lived realities, and desires. In the data, young people discuss how tailored content, queer pedagogies, youth-centric approaches, and affirming spaces that are responsive to their questions might improve their sexuality knowledge as well as their mental health. A total of 22 youth participants from a mid-size Canadian city, the vast majority of whom identified as queer and/or trans, registered in a weekend workshop to evaluate SE video lessons created by educators enrolled in our partner organization’s sexuality education training program. Through this process, young people leaned on both their expertise and experience to critically reflect on the content and pedagogies employed by the educators. Additionally, 14 youth participated in post-workshop interviews where they continued these conversations and reflected on their SE experiences. In contrast to queer and trans young people’s more violent experiences in classrooms, public spaces, and political discourses, this community intervention workshop cultivated community, knowledge, power, and solidarity between and among youth participants. As they used and created memes to laugh in the face of structures and situations that attempt to erase their bodies and experiences, young people reached for a vision of sexuality education that not only includes them but centres on their desires and curiosities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Equity Interventions to Promote the Sexual Health of Young Adults)
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Review

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14 pages, 229 KiB  
Review
A Narrative Review of Ghanaian Policies and Interventions Supporting Young People’s Sexual Agency
by Benedict Ekow Ocran, Geraldine Brady, Pam Alldred and Mathew Nyashanu
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(4), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14040199 - 24 Mar 2025
Viewed by 325
Abstract
Adolescence represents a vital transitional phase during which young people actively explore and engage with their sexual identity and expression. However, in Sub-Saharan African contexts, such as Ghana, prevailing socio-cultural norms can inhibit the recognition of young people as sexual beings, thereby restricting [...] Read more.
Adolescence represents a vital transitional phase during which young people actively explore and engage with their sexual identity and expression. However, in Sub-Saharan African contexts, such as Ghana, prevailing socio-cultural norms can inhibit the recognition of young people as sexual beings, thereby restricting their ability to engage with their sexuality. It is essential to examine structural interventions, particularly sexual and reproductive health initiatives, to understand how they can better address the challenges within the Ghanaian context, where the conceptualization of young people’s sexuality remains problematic, because socio-cultural norms recognize only adults, and not young people, as sexual beings. This narrative review evaluates existing SRH policies in Ghana and analyzes evidence from schools, communities, and families to discern how young people’s sexuality is perceived. An overview of overarching policies shows a fragmented intersectoral approach, emphasizing an abstinence-based curriculum, while incorporating some elements of comprehensive sexuality education like condom use. Investigation into community, school, and home interventions reveals ambivalent attitudes toward young people’s sexuality, with a mix of acceptance and rejection of their sexuality, moral support for abstinence, and varying views on contraception. Further analysis using the sociology of childhood suggests that the incoherent framework for young people’s sexual and reproductive health, identified through this study’s reviews, is inadequate for a comprehensive understanding of young people’s sexuality. The existing sexual and reproductive health framework may not effectively challenge negative cultural norms and socio-cultural contexts that sustain the perception of young people as asexual beings. Therefore, implementing existing structural interventions within a comprehensive sexuality education framework is crucial to effectively tackle negative cultural norms and the contexts that marginalize young people’s sexuality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Equity Interventions to Promote the Sexual Health of Young Adults)
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