| Summary: | <p>Peer sex education (PSE), as an effective approach to deliver knowledge and skills to
young people, has been adopted in Chinese higher education institutions to complement the
insufficient school-based sex education in China. Most existing studies in the field focus on
university-led PSE in China’s higher education, while the contribution of student-led PSE has
received little attention. To bridge the gap in literature, this qualitative study set out to examine
PSE in China’s higher education, especially student-led peer sex education, through the lens of
peer educators. Using semi-structured interviews with 14 peer educators from five Chinese
higher education institutions, this study investigated peer educators’ ways of engagement in
PSE, peer educators’ motivations, and the benefits and challenges of PSE in China’s higher
education as perceived by peer educators.</p>
<p>The findings show that peer educators engage in PSE in China’s higher education by
covering a comprehensive list of topics, including those not addressed in university-led PSE.
By adopting participatory and learner-centred pedagogy, peer educators empower students
through both formal and informal activities. Organised in the form of student associations run
independently by students, student-led PSE has a strong community spirit and more freedom
than university-led PSE. Peer educators are responsible for accessing resources, self-training,
and evaluation by themselves. Results show that intrinsic motivations stemmed from personal
experience and self-identity constitute the main driving force for peer educators to participate
in PSE. Specifically, peer educators are motivated by their interest in sex education and the
aspiration to improve sex education in China and promote equal rights for women and
LGBTQ+. In terms of the benefits of PSE, evidence shows that both students and peer
educators benefit from increased knowledge and skills and the community support brought by
PSE, while peer educators also enhance their transferrable skills and have a sense of
achievement. By accommodating LGBTQ+ students and raising the public’s awareness of
equal rights, PSE also contributes to the overall sociocultural environment. Meanwhile, peer
educators encounter challenges on the individual, organisational, institutional, and cultural
levels. As noted by the participants, the limited capacities of peer educators and organisational
issues can negatively influence the quality and sustainability of PSE, while strict control by the
institution and cultural barriers largely restrict the scale and impact of PSE. The findings of
this study imply that joint efforts by stakeholders in different sectors and the change in social
attitudes towards sex education and relevant topics are required to ensure the effectiveness and
sustainability of PSE.</p>
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