We were delighted to come together at the Grace Darling Hotel in Collingwood on Sunday 10th September to launch Talking Sex by Vanessa Hamilton.
Vanessa is a sexuality educator and the founder of Talking the Talk Health Sexuality Education. She has worked as a sexual health nurse for over 25 years and sexual health educator for over 18 years, educating schools, parents, and health professionals.
In her book, Talking Sex, Vanessa explores the complex topic of human sexuality, drawing from decades of experience and research to challenge readers to reconsider outdated beliefs about sex and sexuality education.
The evening was MCed by Ingrid Laguna, Vanessa Hamilton’s co-author on the awarding winning, Kit & Arlo: Teaching consent to 8-12 year olds.
Ingrid asked Marty McGuran from Inform & Empower to talk about some of the history of the book. Alicia Cohen from Amba Press spoke about the work the team had done on the book and the importance of publishing books like these.
Finally, guest speaker, content lead and educator at Sexual Health Victoria, Anne Atcheson, sat down for a Q&A. Through their conversation, Anne discussed “the importance of sexual education cannot be stressed enough, especially if we want our kids to understand difficult and seemingly uncomfortable topics.”
Vanessa explained the enormous challenge and pressure that parents can relate with when it comes to teaching sexual education to children, there is a lot of depth and tips from this book that can empower parents to be confident in creating safe and fulfilling conversations with their children.
Everyone’s sexuality journey is unique and different, but it doesn’t have to be complicated and intimidating. For the years to come, Vanessa hopes to continue sharing her knowledge, reducing fears in a hyper-sexualised society and to continue supporting children in their journey.
Talking Sex is available here.
