Big Sexy Talk

2.02: (Professor Dirk Schubotz) - Conducting sexual health research with young people

Informing Choices NI Season 2 Episode 2

This episode contains an in-depth interview with Professor Dirk Schubotz. Dirk is a professor in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast and has conducted vast amounts of research in the areas of sexuality, sexual health, and gender. He is a member of ARK, Northern Ireland's Social Policy Hub, and has directed the annual Young Life and Times survey of 16-year-olds since 2003. He is also a Trustee of Common Youth.

Dirk reflects on growing up in East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall; his background in youth work; attending the first Pride parade to take place in Belfast; producing the first large scale study into the sexual attitudes and experiences of young people in Northern Ireland; interacting with schools on conducting a survey regarding young people's views on homosexuality and abortion; young people's experiences of relationships and sexuality education (RSE); findings from the Young Life and Times Survey; working with the Belfast Youth Forum to produce their 'Any Use?' report on RSE; and his aspirations around sexual health in Northern Ireland going forward.

If you would like support around a sexual health issue you can call the Sexual Health Helpline on 028 9031 6100.

Useful links
https://informingchoicesni.org/
https://www.ark.ac.uk/ARK/ylt

Resources
Any Use? report: Young people’s opinions on Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Belfast

Sticks and Stones?  Violence experiences of 16-year olds in Northern Ireland

Sexual risks and capacities: Developing a peer-led educational resource to address sexual risks among young people 

Relationships and Sexuality Education and Homophobic and Transphobic Name Calling

People on this episode