Thit Kwa

Utilized product design to help Burmese teens take sex education into their own hands.

SKIP TO RESULTS

RESPONSIBILITIES

UI/UX Design, Research

TOOLS

Figma, Google Forms

TIMELINE

December 2021 - February 2022

overview

THE ISSUE

The silence around sex

Sex education is deeply lacking in Myanmar’s educational system due to the country’s largely conservative culture. This leads to high occurrences of STIs, unwanted pregnancies, and a general lack of knowledge about topics related to sex & relationships.

THE CHALLENGE

Bridging the gap

Despite its significance, sex education is often eclipsed by societal taboos. My goal was to empower Burmese young adults to educate themselves and close this knowledge gap.

research

SECONDARY RESEARCH

Understanding the issue

According to UNESCO and the DKT International study with 1000 Burmese participants…

73%

participants never received formal sex ed

79%

was not aware of HPV’s link to cervical cancer

83%

lacked HIV prevention knowledge

This lack of knowledge is largely due to cultural sensitivities.

“The subject of sex is still considered a taboo topic in the largely conservative Buddhist-majority country. . .’We don't even dare to use the word "condom" in front of our parents and teachers’. . .”

- Bangkok Post

“In theory, sex ed is offered in schools, but most teachers skip the topic. They are too embarrassed to talk about sex in the classroom. Most parents don’t want them to anyway.”

- The Economist

However, people are naturally curious about sex and turn to their smartphones to learn.

”Most [surveyed Burmese youths] learned about sexuality education through social media . . .”

- UNESCO

“It is mainly from porn that teenagers are learning about subjects their elders won’t discuss.”

- The Economist

Relying on social media and pornography for sex education can result in misconceptions, unwanted exposure to pornographic material, distorted perceptions of sex, body image insecurities, and others issues.

This is why a new way of learning about sex is needed.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

What’s being done about it?

Next, I researched the digital solutions that were helping address the issue.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

What do Burmese young adults think?

Then, I conducted 8 interviews and a survey with 45 respondents of Burmese individuals from 16 - 30 years of age.

THE FINDINGS

Discovering themes…

1. INADEQUATE SEX ED

Lack of comprehensive sex ed is widespread.

• 51.1% of survey respondents did not receive any formal sex ed at schools.

• 77.7% of survey respondents rated their sex ed as “Not Comprehensive”

2. STIGMA & SHAME

Sex is a taboo topic, resulting in a lack of open discussion.

• 84.4% respondents lacked an informed adult to discuss sex ed with

• 6/8 interviewees mentioned they felt shame around talking about sex

3. DESIRE TO LEARN

Burmese teens want to learn more about sex.

• 93.3% respondents deemed sex ed "Important" or "Extremely Important".

• 7/8 interviewees believed lack of sex ed is harmful and should be addressed

SETTING GOALS

How might we...

• Provide reliable and comprehensive sex education to Burmese teens?
• Create a safe and private space for open discussion?

ideation

USER PERSONAS

Who is it for?

CRAZY 8S

Time to brainstorm

design

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Building out the experience

WIREFRAMING

Bringing the ideas to life

After developing the flow, I started wireframing each design on paper and brought the most viable concepts into Figma where I developed low-fidelity wireframes.