Understanding Sexual Agency. Implications for Sexual Health Programming

Abstract

Debates on human agency, especially female and sexual agency, have permeated the social scientific literature and health educational practice for multiple decades now. This article provides a review of recent agency debates illustrating how criticisms of traditional conceptions of (sexual) agency have led to a notable diversification of the concept. A comprehensive, inclusive description of sexual agency is proposed, focusing on the navigation of goals and desires in the wider structural context, and acknowledging the many forms sexual agency may take. We argue there is no simple relation between sexual agency and sexual health. Next, we describe the implications of such an understanding of sexual agency for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and for sexual health and rights (SHR) programming more generally. We put forward validation of agentic variety, gender transformative approaches, meaningful youth participation, and multicomponent strategies as essential in building young peoples’ sexual agency and their role as agents of wider societal change. We also show that these essential conditions, wherever they have been studied, are far from being realized. With this review and connected recommendations, we hope to set the stage for ongoing, well-focused research and development in the area.

Hope, agency, and adolescents' sexual and reproductive health: A mini review

“…Multi-country investment is pertinent to identify contextually relevant and culturally sensitive interventions and programmes to enhance adolescent SRH and prevent, interrupt, and address the various barriers to accessing adolescent friendly SRH services and products. Contextual factors not only play significant roles in shaping the quality, availability, and accessibility of SRH services and programs for AGYW, but also regulates how young people make decisions or enact their agency and constructions of hope (14,17,37). For example, studies show that AGYW's ability to exercise autonomy over their bodies is constrained by traditional, cultural, and religious norms that view publicly expressing sexuality and talking about sex as taboo (38)(39)(40)(41).…”

“…It implies a belief that the individual has the potential to direct a sequence of events that make the sum of lived experience. Pertaining to SRH, Vanwesenbeeck, and colleagues (14) uses the term sexual agency which describes young women's ability to make sexual choices, including initiating sex. Banerjee et al (13) argues that a lack of SRH knowledge and information, and limited agency to negotiate sexual encounters contribute to early and unprotected sex for youth.…”

“…However, in SSA, young adolescents may have a general awareness about sexual and reproductive health matters, but lack in-depth knowledge to sufficiently protect themselves from sexual risks (16). Thus, Vanwesenbeeck et al argue that agency is multifaceted and that the constructions of SRH agency need to consider the various contextual factors that limit adolescents decision-making (14).…”

Increasing Opportunities for Healthy Sexual Socialization in LGBTQ+ People with IDD: The Role of LGBTQ+ Organizations and Community

“…Additionally, sexual agency has many benefits, including, but not limited to, psychological well-being [ 50 ] and promoting sexual and reproductive health [ 51 ]. Previously, sexual agency has been noted as an attribute bound by opportunities, restrictions, and privilege [ 51 ]. To increase sexual agency in LGBTQ+ people with IDD, there needs to be fewer restrictions and more access to sexual socialization opportunities, as sexual expression is not the privilege of the heterosexual cis-gender population, but everybody’s right.…”

Young Adults’ Understanding of Sexual Competence: A Qualitative Study with German University Students

“…Previous research demonstrated that overcoming traditional sex roles may contribute to young people's sexual well-being (Casique, 2019). Furthermore, researchers have recently called for gender-transformatory approaches to sexual education including (female) sexual agency (see Vanwesenbeeck et al, 2021, for a critical overview on sexual agency). Previous research also demonstrated that sexual-health interventions that addressed the issue of gender and power were more effective than interventions that did not include these issues (see Haberland, 2015, for a review).…”