Initiative teaches young children about bodily autonomy

AMMAN — For the first time in Jordan, a local initiative is opening the lines of communication to teach young children personal boundaries and bodily autonomy.

Noor Sakkijha, a human sexuality educator and specialist, is the founder of the Awareness for Protection Initiative. In an interview with The Jordan Times on Tuesday, Sakkijha said that “it is time that we broach the topic of self-protection with children”. 

“We cannot continue to view topics involving the body and its boundaries as taboo,” she added.

Speaking with children about their right to personal space is necessary for their confidence and helps them make their own choices, Sakkijha said.

Sakkijha started her initiative in 2018, after an unusual situation motivated her to start her own initiative to teach children respect other children’s boundaries and bodily autonomy from a very young age.

“Teaching our children about setting limits and boundaries for their own bodies is a crucial thing in a child’s development of a sense of self,” she explained.

During her workshops with the children, Sakkijha presents age-appropriate topics, names the parts of the body accurately by using proper language, discusses safety-related subjects, and incorporates elements such as booklets and puppets to help children understand, she said.

Rula Abdalla, an experienced elementary school teacher, told The Jordan Times that “such topics relating to personal safety, boundaries and teaching kids how to protect themselves from any kind of abuse is rarely talked about in schools and other educational institutions”.

According to Abdalla, this initiative is important because it “teaches children from a young age to identify inappropriate or sexualised behaviours”.

Speaking with The Jordan Times, Sarah Hussein, a mother of two, said that “if talking about body autonomy remains a taboo subject that cannot be discussed, our children will have trouble discussing these things with us”.

Therefore, she added, age-appropriate education is necessary for the protection of young children.