ENGAGING WITH CSE
RESOURCES FOR FAITH LEADERS
Religious and faith leaders are still considered the trusted moral authorities in many African countries, meaning that their endorsement of CSE and related concepts carries much weight within communities. Therefore, once equipped with the correct information and resources, religious leaders are perfectly situated to engage with various stakeholders to champion and amplify CSE messaging.
For faith leaders
Faith and CSE
Religious and faith leaders are uniquely positioned to offer support for comprehensive sexuality education based on the privileged position that they hold within communities.
Key message
Always focus on ensuring that you clearly communicate the three shared values of protection, dignity and shared responsibility in response to any counter messaging that may arise.
A faith leader can support age-appropriate CSE, including its content on consent, non-violence and non-discrimination, while continuing to teach their own tradition’s position on marriage and sexual ethics
In practice
Ensure that your messaging includes country specific references and information, including the correct use of terminology and language. Religious and faith-based leaders should understand where the implementation and roll out of CSE within schools and other spaces currently stands and ensure that they are part of policy formulation where possible.
Take the full toolkit with you
Download the complete Stakeholder Toolkit as a document for offline use, printing, and sharing.
