Religious factors affecting teaching comprehensive sexuality education in early childhood education classes in Chipinge, Zimbabwe

Child sexual abuse is a global threat to child optimal development. Strategies such as making laws that criminalize it and that legalize the provision of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in schools have been put in place but is still escalating. This study was undertaken to explore the religious factors affecting the delivery of CSE in Early Childhood Education (ECE) in order to determine strategies of mitigating it. This qualitative case study design, located in the interpretive paradigm used semistructured interviews to gather data from five religious leaders, ten parents and ten teachers who were purposefully selected. Data were analyzed thematically with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system’s theory as the theoretical framework. Religious beliefs, doctrines, values and customs were found to inhibit the provision of CSE in ECE classes, leaving children uninformed about how to protect themselves from sexual abuse. The study recommended the integration of CSE into training curricula for religious leaders and the provision of in-service training for religious leaders already in practice to help religious leaders recognize the importance of CSE and support its implementation in the ECE classes.