Engaging Young People in Sex Ed
August 2025
It may not come as a surprise when we say that sexually active young people under the age of 30 years old are a priority population in the NSW STI Strategy 2022-2026.
We know that higher education institutions are an effective setting for intervention through peer support projects, outreach and education. But what about within subject placements?
Sex Ed in Student Placements
At Caddyshack Project, we have been hosting student placements with varied sexual and reproductive health topics since 2016 through the University of Wollongong’s Bachelor of Public Health and Bachelor of Communications and Media as well as being the industry supervisor for honours students at the University of Technology in Sydney.
With over 50 students engaged in Caddyshack placements we have been able to strategically reach and target a key priority population to share sexual and reproductive health information, resources and services.
As students explore their placement topic, they have the opportunity to build their knowledge and reflect on the sexual health topic in a discrete, non-invasive, personal way.
Student placements are mutually beneficial for the professional workplace, the students and the wider community. So, we thought we would share some of the key projects and their benefits to both us as the host organisation, and the young people studying.
We don’t want to throw the word ‘impact’ around here, but our students have told us how their placement has had a positive change to their lives, and that’s impact worth sharing!
This is a topic area we are passionate about at Caddyshack. We were all given opportunities to gain experience when we were studying and it’s important that we pay it forward. Now is the time we can give back and support the next generation of students in public health and health promotion fields, because, why wouldn’t we?
We recently presented on this topic at the Preventative Health Conference in Ngunnawal Country, Canberra, and at the 27th Congress of the World Association of Sexual Health in Meanjin Country, Brisbane. We are also looking forward to present again at the Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference in Kaurana Country, Adelaide (all self-funded to attend and present, but hit us up if you want to sponsor us!). We know we’re on a bit of a conference circuit in 2025, because we’re not interested in gatekeeping how we work in this space. We’re not going to stop talking about the importance of working directly with young people on resources for young people. We want to share what we have learnt along the way and learn from others.
Graphic Design Student Projects
Do you like what you see at Caddyshack Project? Our logo, website, graphics and resources? Well, we have some young people to thank for that.
University of Wollongong 3rd year graphic design students were integral in building the Caddyshack re-brand including our website, logo and colour pallet.
The brand identity for our On The Couch podcast was also created by this student project.
Resources like the initial sexual health and relationships Kit resource was conceptualised by this cohort of students. The Kit, along with a Guiding Tool is now a state-wide resource with higher education institutions across NSW available to order through the International Student Health Hub resources page.
We are quite proud that these big pieces of work came from local young people.
Caddyshack After Dark Project
We recently completed our 2025 graphic design project where students utilised Caddyshack photoshoot images to design a physical and social safe sex campaign, called Safe is Sexy. The campaign is one part of the Caddyshack After Dark Project where physical posters are found on the back of toilet doors in local venues, bars and places where young people are at, while additionally a social media campaign includes digital assets found on Caddyshack’s Instagram.
The Safe is Sexy Campaign is a visual addition to Caddyshack After Dark Project, complementing the Safe Sext Campaign promoting STI prevention, condom use, contraception options, consent and healthy relationships.
The Safe Sext Campaign posters and social assets mimic text message exchanges with friends or lovers, they are approachable, relevant and resonate with young people’s experiences.
They contribute to destigmatising common concerns with respect and empathy, whilst encouraging thought-provoking conversations and self-reflection without judgement.
The Safe Sext Media Kit is available to order for free from our online resource shop. It includes PDF posters for print, PNG graphics and MP4 videos for social media, and a user guide.
Stay tuned to see when the Safe Is Sexy posters become available on our online resource shop!
Caddyshack Photoshoot
Technically not a placement project, but while we’re here, we want to share a similar mutually beneficial project engaging young people in innovative ways. The Caddyshack photoshoot is an example of a type of intervention with a cross-section of diverse young people as models, who during the 6 shoots over two weeks engaged in candid and meaningful sex positive conversations facilitated by us.
The models were given a gift card for their time, but also walked away with sexual health resources, information and confidence to have sex positive conversations with their peers. This was not set up as a peer education activity however, it was a real benefit of the photoshoot and is worth exploring as a future strategy.
The photoshoot was more than capturing images, it created an opportunity to hear how young people want to engage with sexual health messages, where they want to see them and what they want them to look like – local, diverse and inclusive.
Our local photographer Cam did a beautiful job of facilitating a safe space, capturing candid moments and editing the photos in the Caddyshack After Dark style.
The photoshoot was held over key locations where young people spend their time in Wollongong; the University of Wollongong, local outdoor places, a popular local gig venue and two share houses. At the completion of the photoshoot, the models were invited back to the LaLaLa’s venue for a photoshoot release event where they received their images on a USB, could pick up additional sexual health resources and have an open discussion with Caddyshack health promotion officers about the photoshoot experience.
Models reflected on the experience as a whole and shared the sex positive sexual health conversations they had with their friends and peers after the photoshoot. What a win! That is a huge part of why we do what we do!
This incidental intervention with young people shows the effectiveness of a peer education model.
Public Health Placements
Another key placement is the 3rd year public health placement at UOW. Public health student placements provide so much value to project development, implementation and evaluation through explorative data deep dives, narrative synthesis’s and focus testing.
Our most recent student completed a national comparative analysis for our On The Couch series, providing the evidence needed for podcasting as sexual health education tool.
We produced an episode sharing the experience and findings of this project. Listen to the episode of On The Couch: Public Health Student Placement & Podcasting with Jade Scott.
We caught up with Emma Davis, the former placement coordinator for public health.
Emma gave us an insight into the reasons why the Public Health degree like to offer student placements with sexual health exposure from a public health lens. She shares how it benefits the students in terms of learning from a professional, personal and social perspective.
“As student placement coordinator for public health, I love being able to offer students placement projects with the Caddyshack team.
The Caddyshack team are passionate advocates within the sexual health space, and I recognised this not only in the placement experiences offered but through general conversations with the team.
The placements offered by the Caddyshack team hold significant weight in that not only the placement student benefits from learning about sexual health, but also the whole cohort as students are given ample opportunities to discuss their placement in workshops including a presentation of their placement during week 12.
A lot of students are fascinated with the area of sexual health from a public health lens, but not many get the opportunity to learn and work within this space. So having exposure via placement offers multiple benefits in terms of learning from a professional, personal and social perspective.”
Young people working in the sexual health space are not representative of all young people. Young people are diverse in their backgrounds, education, sexuality, political views and experiences.
Students bring the voice and perspective of young people, allowing for collaborative opportunities for co-creation and co-design of projects as well as organic communication and marketing strategies.
Benefits for the Students & Campus Culture
Placements in the sexual health promotion field act as an effective preventative education for students, influencing their own knowledge, choices and sexual lives.
While students explore, problem solve and design projects within the placement, they expand their own knowledge which can influence their sexual health literacy, behaviours, protective factors and that of their peers.
Increasing knowledge and confidence of sexual health topics is key in preventing STIs, unplanned pregnancy and improving sexual experiences.
We reached out to a recent student to get their thoughts on their experience in placement with Caddyshack Project and they shared how it deepened their understanding of sex-positive knowledge, sexual health and STI prevention both professionally and personally, and equipped them with tangible information and resources to have conversations with their friends at uni, at home and at their bookclub.
“My student placement was transformative in unexpected ways. More than just deepening my understanding of sex-positive knowledge, sexual health, and STI prevention, this experience also equipped me with tangible information to meaningfully contribute to conversations my friends and I were already having.
Beyond the project, I found myself learning every week, both professionally and personally. I really like how in sexual health there is always more to learn, as new information and personal experiences continue to shape the understanding and approaches to sexual health promotion.
Caddyshack naturally became part of many of my conversations because of its diverse and relatable approach to sharing information across different platforms. For instance, I mentioned Caddyshack in my book club after learning about their Goodreads account, where they leave insightful comments on relevant and thought-provoking books.
Being part of the priority population makes this work especially relevant to me, strengthening my interest and passion for the field. I feel it’s special to work in an area of public health where I also have lived experience. It allows the experience to be transactional and a more meaningful exchange—I not only gained valuable knowledge but also could contribute my experiences to the conversation. This makes sexual health promotion feel both personal and purposeful.
Before this placement, I had always envisioned a career in infectious disease prevention. While that passion still remains, this experience shifted my focus—now, sexual health is an area I want to pursue a career in within public health”
The quote also speaks to the co-design element of placements as the student shares about how they not only gained valuable knowledge but were able to meaningfully contribute their lived experiences to the Caddyshack team conversations, creating a strong sense of purpose during the project.
Placements have also guided student career choices. This student shares how their positive experience shifted their focus to pursue a public health career in sexual health.
Final Thoughts
We want to note that we recognise student placement fatigue and the effects of unpaid labour. From the host organisation perspective, we have been privileged to offer engaged students paid work implementing their project post-placement. For example, two of the graphic design students who designed our website were paid through their ABN to complete its launch.
By empowering young people in universities to have knowledge and practice safe, healthy and pleasurable sex free from coercion, we can be working towards the common goal of reducing STIs, unplanned pregnancy and sexual harassment at higher education institutions.
Hopefully by now we all know the value of working with young people for projects and resources targeting young people. It’s time we do more than tick a box and instead, actively include elements of co-creation, co-design and co-production in our project plans and be prepared to pivot and act when young people share their thoughts and ideas. It’s about genuinely listening, and it’s so worth it for everyone involved.
As always,
Peace, Love & Protection