‘I was afraid of being incapable of explaining things to them’: Ecuadorian parents’ perceptions of sex and sexuality education for their children

The role of parents as primary educators about sexuality has been emphasised in the literature. However, parents’ perceptions regarding the provision of sex and sexuality education to children aged between 6 and 12 years have been relatively ignored, especially in Latin American contexts and particularly in Ecuador. Nevertheless, providing contextually relevant sex and sexuality education has been recognised as fostering healthy sexuality in children at different developmental stages. Accordingly, this study aimed to understand parents’ perceptions of the importance of the sex and sexuality education provided to children in Cuenca, Ecuador aged 6–12 years using a qualitative approach. Five focus groups were held with 39 participants whose children attend five different public educational schools in the city. The findings indicate that although parents recognised the importance of sex and sexuality education, they had limited knowledge of sex and sexuality, both in general and in children, and had an inadequate grasp of sexuality education, which made approaching the topic difficult. Moreover, parents’ personal beliefs hindered the provision of sex and sexuality education to their children. These findings provide a baseline for the development of more comprehensive forms of sexuality education and training for parents.