KUALA LUMPUR, July 2nd - Living in an environment that suppresses sexual exploration and education can lead to devastating consequences for society.
Recently, a news report regarding the rape of a four-year-old by a student in Primary 6 shed light on the dangers of early exposure to sexual content online without proper guidance.
“Our sexual education is outdated, not scientifically-corroborated and heavily involves religion,” stated Shayne Wyatt, 25, a founder of Ilmu Seks, an NGO that seeks to spread awareness about sexual and reproductive health online through engagement and collaborations.
He started becoming sexually active at the age of 21 and faced discrimination while getting medicated for his symptoms of a gonorrhoea, a sexually-transmitted-infection (STI).
“A hijabi doctor questioned my sexual behaviours while referring to my Malay-identifying name,” he revealed.
Genesis of Ilmu Seks
As a medical student, it dawned him that his privilege allowed him to understand his health better than the common man.
This sparked his desire to spread awareness about sexual and reproductive health, thus Ilmu Seks was found on September 16, 2016 by Shayne, Mussy Del Cunt, 23, whom he met during an activist gathering and Herinza, 24, whom he met via Twitter.
Currently, the Ilmu Seks team has expanded to five members.
“It started out as a small project to target the young Malay crowd with videos and lessons online for safe sex,” Shayne expressed, pointing out how they deviate from old school methodologies to approach them.
Ilmu Seks has 18 videos up on their Youtube channel, with topics ranging from contraceptives, consent, sexually-transmitted-diseases and infections, inclusivity and medical resources. “We would like to start a discussion about the taboo topic and normalize these discussions based on science and medical claims,” said Mussy.
For all the content published on Ilmu Seks, it is cross checked with healthcare professionals from multiple NGOs to provide access to safe and secular sex education.
Hardships doing something good
For a controversial topic that challenges the fabric of the society, Ilmu Seks members have a tough time navigating through the negativity.
“I would never have thought it would be so dangerous,” Shayne said, adding that by owning a sex toy, it is actually illegal because it is considered “obscene”, therefore liable to at least 3 years in jail and/or a fine.
“We also have religious policing on our tail alongside cyberbullying, online harassment, politicized content and death threats,” Mussy revealed, explaining that it affects their mental health as well as their personal lives.
The mantra that motivates them through these hardships is the experience of being discriminated and the plea for help from the youth online evident through the questions on their CuriousCat platform.
“People drop intimate questions and supportive messages to us often and we are just channelling the information so that they won’t end up a statistic,” Shayne said.
Looking forward to a positive change in society
Both Shayne and Mussy are happy with the impact Ilmu Seks has on the community, but are looking forward to bigger projects such as producing modules for formal sex education through collaboration with other NGOs.
Currently, Ilmu Seks is endorsed and supported by PT Foundation, Federation of Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysian AIDS Council, Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM) and All Women’s Action Society (AWAM).
In just three years, Ilmu Seks has impacted many Malaysians positively while gaining a significant following on both Twitter and Youtube.
“We’re getting invites to panel at forums to speak about sexual and reproductive health. and our greatest achievement was hosting a HIV test project where 200 people attended and got tested,” Shayne added.
The public can access to Ilmu Seks content through their Twitter account (@ilmu_seks) or Youtube channel (Ilmu Seks).
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