Who should attend

This short course is designed for educators and professionals - such as teachers, allied health practitioners, family support workers, health professionals and public servants including VicPolice - who work with diverse members of the Australian Islamic community on sexual health matters.

Program structure

Module 1: Foundations - Islam, Muslims and Sexual Health
Self-paced online component, 1.5 hours.

This introductory module provides a culturally relevant foundation for understanding sexual health for Australian Muslim young people. Participants will explore key definitions, concepts, understandings and the importance of sexual well-being for Australian Muslim youth.

Module 2: Key cultural (including religious) understandings
Self-paced online component, 1.5 hours.

This module explores the cultural, ethical, and religious dimensions of sexual health, helping participants gain deeper insights into the unique perspectives and lived experiences of Muslim youth in Australia.

Module 3: Practical Sexual Health Education
Online synchronous session, live on Zoom, 3 hours.

In this live workshop, participants will apply what they’ve learned through real-world scenarios, interactive tools, and culturally sensitive strategies. The session blends Islamic values with research and evidence-based sexual health education to empower youth with confidence, knowledge, and life skills.

Facilitator - Associate Professor Fida Sanjakdar

Fida Sanjakdar is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, Culture and Society, in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. Her research expertise lies in the areas of critical sexuality education, the intersections between religion, culture and sexuality education, Islamic Education and Islamic schooling, teaching controversial issues and real-world ethics.

She is the author of ‘Living West, Facing East: The (de)construction of Muslim Youth Sexual Identities’ (2011, Peter Lang, NY), lead author of 'Researching Margins: Ethics, Social Justice and Education' (with Gabriel Fletcher, Amanda Keddie and Ben Whitburn 2022, Routledge) and co-editor of ‘Critical Pedagogy, Sexuality Education and Young People’ (2018, Peter Lang, NY) with Professor Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip (University of Nottingham). More recently, she has completed an international edited volume entitled 'Engaging Critical Pedagogy in Education: Global Phenomenon, Local Praxis' with Professor Michael Apple.

Associate Professor Sanjakdar's peer reviewed research articles are published in leading educational journals such as Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, Sex Education, International Journal of Research and Method in Education and British Journal of Educational studies, which span disciplinary fields such as culture, religion, psychology, sociology, youth studies and health.

Associate Professor Sanjakdar is Associate Editor of the prestigious journal 'Race, Ethnicity and Education' and on the editorial review board of other high-ranking journals including Curriculum Inquiry; Diaspora, Indigenous and Minority Education and The Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies'.

1) My organisation would like to pay for my registration in this course via tax invoice. How do I go about organising this?

Please email us at edu.pdp@monash.edu advising us that your organisation would like to pay for your registration via tax invoice. We will email you an application form to fill in, and you will need to complete this and return it back to us with a copy of a purchase order from your organisation for the course fees. We can then complete your enrolment and organise a tax invoice.

2) Are sessions recorded?

No, the 3-hour online session is not recorded because it is conducted as a live class.