Safe rooms for young people: network meetings for sexuality and prevention

Safe rooms for young people: network meetings for sexuality and prevention

On April 3, 2025, an important network meeting for full-time and volunteers in youth work took place in Bad Kreuznach. Around 60 participants from associations, associations, youth rooms and other institutions came together to exchange ideas on current topics of sex education work. Among the speakers was Natalie Kappler by Profamilia Idar-Oberstein, who spoke about "sexuality in adolescence in the context of youth work". She emphasized the relevance of age -appropriate sex education accompaniment in order to meet the needs of children and adolescents.

Joachim Otterbach and Margret Kastor from the youth center in the visitation district of Koblenz of the diocese of Trier addressed in their lecture "Prevention of sexual violence and sexual education in youth work". In this regard, current statistics and concrete guidelines with recommendations for action were presented, which should serve the participants as valuable resources. The aim of the event was not only the transfer of knowledge, but also networking and developing protection concepts.

sexual education as a prevention measure

One of the central points of the discussion was the role of sexual education as part of a protective concept. The speakers emphasized that sexual education is an essential building block in the prevention of sexual violence. The right of children and adolescents must remain on protection without affecting their need for sexual spaces. This was continued in the Psychosocial Society that indicates the need to promote inclusion and participation.

An important aspect here is the differentiation between childish and adult sexuality. While children often experience sexuality spontaneously and playfully, sensitive and age -appropriate education is required to respect their perception and to support them in their development. Through such an education, children and adolescents can develop important skills in dealing with relationships and physicality, as well as learning to set and respect limits.

positive feedback and outlook

Karola Wolf drew a positive conclusion of the event and emphasized the considerable need for advice on topics such as lust, love and taboos. Many participants took the opportunity to collect information materials and exchange ideas with experts. The moderation of the meeting was in the hands of Vanessa Berg from the city youth promotion and Karola Wolf from the district youth promotion, which the group led through the afternoon The network meeting was supported by the family and educational advice center of the city and district of Bad Kreuznach as well as the educational, marriage, family and life advice center of the diocese of Trier. For more information on sex education work, extensive materials and literature instructions are available in a PDF-Dokument