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An important first step in translating global statements about women's right to health into action programs is an assessment of the interface between local health culture and public health/medical practice. In this paper, we present the findings of an ongoing research project focusing on women's sexual and reproductive health in Northeast Thailand. The project is a prototype illustrating how formative research may be used to guide intervention development as well as midcourse correction. Examples are provided which clearly illustrate why cultural understandings of gynecological health are important to consider before introducing women's health programs. One case featured describes how an iatrogenic fear of cervical cancer has emerged from public health messages and screening programs. A hybrid model of cancer has evolved from preexisting local ideas, resulting in an exaggerated sense of risk wherein women fear that a wide range of common problems may potentially transform into this fatal disease. We argue that public health needs to be held accountable for what transpires when health messages are introduced into a community. Monitoring of community response is necessary. In the second half of the paper we describe efforts to increase community understanding of women's health problems, create gender and culturally sensitive health care services, and enhance the technical and communication skills of health staff. KEYWORDS. Women's health, gynecology, reproductive health, Thailand, gender-sensitivity, cultural-sensitivity

School settings are volatile and often violent for LGBT teens who are first coming to terms with their sexuality. We explored the attitudes of LGBT students in Thai secondary schools towards homosexuality. Students aged 12–19 years were surveyed in 393 public institutions providing secondary-school education in six regions of Thailand, selected by a multistage cluster sampling. Among 1088 LGBT-identified students, 378 (35%) reported negative attitudes toward homosexuality. Factors associated with homonegative attitudes in a multivariable logistic regression analysis were identifying as a transgender (Adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 2.5, 95% CI 1.5-4.1), having low academic performance (GPA scores of 2–3 [aOR 2.6, 95% CI 1.7-4.1] or less than 2 [aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-2.]), and attending sexuality education classes covering topics such as bullying LGBT students (aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-3.1) and safe homosexual practices (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.7-4.1). Sexuality education in its current form in Thai public schools may not be effective in reducing homonegative attitudes of LGBT-identified students. A more comprehensive sexuality education emphasising gender and rights along with strategies addressing social disparities due to sexual orientation is needed to enable Thai LGBT teens to accept their sexuality without shame and self-disrespect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the sex trade is connected with globalization and cross-border migration. There is an increase of young female Laotian sex workers who respond to the demand of Thai male customers. Emotion and sexuality are integrated as an essential part of sexual goods and services, and are essential tools for sex workers to generate business profits and customer satisfaction. The study's objectives are to study the expression of emotion and sexuality among female Lao migrant sex workers (FLMSWs) who work in one Thai-Lao cross border town, and to analyze the management and negotiation of emotion and sexuality in the commercial sex in karaoke bars by FLMSWs. Content and narrative analyses were conducted from an ethnographic study consisting of participant observations, five focus group discussion, 20 in-depth interviews, and 10 narrative interviews. The research used the concept of emotional labor and emotion management by Arlie Russell Hochschild during the data analysis. The key finding of this study are as follow: 1) the emotion is a tool of management and negotiated in sexual service; 2) emotion management was produced for sexual service as well as strategies of screening and choosing clients, including building zone about body and emotion; and 3) the emotion-related to social identity is manufactured for negotiation during work and everyday life. They are not merely victimized, but they have agency and power to seek life opportunities. These study findings contribute to the revision of migrant worker's policy and program, especially the destigmatization of migrant sex workers in Thailand and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study focuses on youth perceptions of cyberbullying (definition, causes, consequences, and management). We also articulate how perceptions of cyberbullying among Thai youth are influenced by Thai culture, including Thai youth culture. Data were collected from 15 to 24 year-olds in Central Thailand through 22 focus group discussions (FGDs) with 4-6 participants each, as well as 26 in-depth interviews (IDIs), totaling 136 participants. These youth defined cyberbullying as harming others through mobile phones and the Internet. To count as cyberbullying, actions had to cause real harm or annoyance and be committed with malicious intent. The relationship between the parties involved also mattered: close friends were unlikely to be considered cyberbullies. Participants thought that the anonymity of cyberspace is a key cause of cyberbullying but also that cyberbullying often results from previous offline incidents of violence. In their view, cyberbullying impacts individuals and their social interactions. Participants tended to manage the problem by themselves and not consult their parents. Alarmingly, participants viewed cyberbullying as 'an ordinary matter'. To raise awareness that cyberbullying is a societal problem with serious consequences, state agencies and educational institutions need to play active roles in preventing it and responding to it constructively when it occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teenagers under 18 years old in Vietnam are considered as minors who usually lack the autonomy to make decisions. They are also sometimes viewed as contributors to social evils including crime, violence and substance use. Moreover, most Vietnamese teenagers have unsafe sex before marriage. The objective of this study is to explore the parental perceptions relating to their teenagers' sexuality, particularly the social and cultural forces, that may hinder access to sexuality information.Methods: Guided by a Community Advisory Board (CAB), this qualitative study uses four focus group discussions (FGDs) consisting of 12 mothers and 12 fathers, as well as twelve individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) with a diverse sample of parents of teens in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. Content and discourse analysis were conducted, based on Foucauldian concepts.Results: Four themes emerged: 1) Meanings of sexuality and sexuality education, 2) Early sexual intercourse destroys teenagers' future, 3) Teenagers are not hu hong (spoil/bad thing), are innocent and virgin, and 4) Policing and controlling of sexual intercourse among teens. Parents did not view their teenage children as sexual beings; those who are sexual are considered hu hong. Parents believed that teens need to be policed and controlled to prevent them from becoming hu hong, particularly girls. Controlling of sexuality information by parents was therefore common in HCMC, but differed by gender and educational levels of parents. For example, fathers more than mothers were not comfortable teaching their teenage children about sex and sexuality. Parents with higher education police their teenage children's usage of the Internet and social media, while parents with lower education control who can be friends with their teenage children.Conclusions: Vietnamese parents in general have negative views of sex and sexuality education for their teenage children. Recognizing that many Vietnamese teenagers have unsafe sex before marriage, parents need to change their perceptions and understand the importance of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), which are included in UNESCO, UNFPA and UNICEF-developed CSE tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) younger than 18 years are often excluded from HIV prevention research in Thailand due to cultural attitudes toward youth sexuality, social stigma, and difficulties obtaining guardian permission. Culturally sensitive focus group discussions conducted with parents and YMSM in Bangkok, Thailand, identified barriers and facilitators related to minors’ participation in HIV prevention research. Although gender and class differences emerged, mothers and fathers were generally accepting of research to reduce HIV risk but not in favor of waiver. Youth’s positive attitude toward parental permission was tempered by concerns about harms posed by disclosing same-sex attraction through permission forms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Visual research methods are increasingly utilised in educational research and scholars have used them to develop accounts of sexuality in schooling contexts. This article advances this work with an analysis of secondary students’ drawings of their experiences with sexuality education. We performed a thematic analysis on 150 drawings created during participatory focus group discussions (FGDs) among students in 30 Thai general secondary and vocational schools. We present summaries of six key themes identified in the visual data (‘emphasis on puberty, anatomy, and reproduction’; ‘emphasis on preventing pregnancy and infection’; ‘emphasis on the negative consequences of sex’; ‘hidden curriculum of heteronormativity’; ‘absence of complexities in the images’; and ‘a traditional classroom environment’). Conducted as a part of a multi-method study that also included teacher and student surveys, the analysis of students’ drawings highlighted the nature of Thai sexuality education from a complementary vantage point. While our previously reported survey findings indicated relatively comprehensive topic coverage, our interpretation of the student drawings suggests that pregnancy prevention may be emphasised over other topic areas. Our analysis of the drawings also supported earlier survey findings pointing at a lecture-heavy approach to teaching and learning rather than more learner-centred pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]