Negotiating sexual intimacy: A PAUSE develops an approach using a peer‐led, theatre‐for‐development model in the classroom

Previous authors have noted the difficulty of demonstrating behavioural outcomes from school‐based sex education programmes. It is increasingly accepted that unless such programmes are firmly based in psychological theory, they are unlikely to be effective in changing behaviour. The A PAUSE programme has been cited as one of only three in Britain that set out to rigorously evaluate the outcomes of a major sex education intervention. Despite the changes in knowledge, beliefs and behaviour demonstrated by the A PAUSE programme, it has failed to significantly change young teenagers’ beliefs in their ability to negotiate sexual aspects of their relationships. To address this problem, A PAUSE has been piloting a peer‐led theatre‐based programme designed to give participants opportunities to identify the need for negotiating skills and practise them in role‐play situations. Drawing on the theoretical basis of A PAUSE, the theatre‐for‐development process aims to promote autonomy of the peer educators and empower the target population. Although detailed process evaluation is still in its early stages, this article describes the pilot, examines the results so far, and makes a case for pursuing this theatre model further.