PEACH

Thesis Capstone Project | 2023 | Advisor: Professor Maaike Bouwmeester

A digital safe space for LGBTQIA+ teens to access inclusive and medically accurate sexual education

The Problem

Sexual education in public high schools within the United States is highly regulated, politicized, and does not cater to the needs of all of the students. Currently what is taught in sex education is determined by the state legislature as well as local government, there are no laws on a federal level determining sex education laws.

The consequences of inaccurate and inadequate sex education are drastic, and can lead to lifelong health issues, and mental trauma. Statistically, the LGBTQIA+ community is at a much higher risk of contracting STIs and HIV/AIDS, as well as a much higher rate of experiencing sexual assault and rape.

The Solution

After going through my survey data, interview notes, and conducting a landscape audit, it became increasingly clear that for my thesis project, I would need to find a way to move sexual education to outside of the classroom. Within the United States public school systems, politics comes into play and students may be restricted in what they learn in the formal classroom setting.

This solution manifested in the development of PEACH, a mobile application that LGBTQIA+ high school students can use to access medically accurate and inclusive sexual health education in an environment that allows safe exploration.

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The app has 6 main features, which are:

READ and WATCH: The main purpose of the app. In the learn tab users will be able to explore articles, videos, and podcasts about sexual health covering all topics within the LGBTQIA+ community.

QUESTION BOX: The question box is where users can go to put a question in a digital box.

IF IT HAPPENS: This section focuses on connecting users with resources that are near them. Users will go to this section if they think they may have contracted an STI or HIV/AIDS, if they have experienced sexual violence, or any other issues they may be facing in their sexual health. This section will also help users by giving them step by step information on what to do in the next 5 minutes, hour, day, week, month, and year.

FORUM: The forum is where users can go to have discussions about various topics and create an open dialogue about LGBTQIA+ issues and challenges.

For more information on this project, contact me below