On Saturday 20 April, the “Healthy sexuality, strong ties”,  training course for educators began, organised by the UIC Barcelona Institute of Advanced Family Studies (IESF). Aimed at educators and parents, the first session of the course was attended by about 150 participants. 

The speakers of this first session were Alejandro Villena, coordinator of the Unit of Clinical Sexology and Sexual Health in the Dr Carlos Chiclana clinic; María Contreras, PhD in Psychology; Carolina Lupo, collaborator of Infinity: Family, Love and Sexuality; Jorge Gutiérrez, director of Dale Una Vuelta (Turn it Around) and Pablo Pons, psychologist and lecturer of the Aprender a Mirar Foundation (Learn to Look).

In his presentation, Villena stressed that “the most negative thing about pornography is not its consumption, but rather the numbing of the person who consumes it, the objectification of women and the fact that it is based on sexual exploitation.” Faced with this reality, the expert said that the key is to look for “an alternative to pornography.”

Contreras then focused on the feminine vision of pornography, a more unknown aspect, according to the psychologist. “Women are victims when they interact with men addicted to pornography, and they are also increasingly consuming pornographic content,” says Contreras.

In addition, the rapid evolution of the so-called new pornography, pornography 3.0, which incorporates artificial intelligence and makes it more interactive, was also highlighted during the session. The effects of uncontrolled access of minors to pornographic content and the replication of its typical behaviour among adolescents were also analysed.

Finally, from the participating NGOs, Proyecto Hombre and Éxite, the need for schools and parents to work together for an effective education in sexual issues was raised, and the loneliness which many young people feel when parents avoid their educational responsibilities and their lack of solid friendships was identified as a risk factor.

The IESF will hold the second session of this training course on 18 and 19 October at UIC Barcelona. The institute will offer a workshop called “Does making love very often have side effects?” to answer the most frequently asked questions about sexuality by teenagers.