As part of the main drivers of the BAM Group of Companies, this being the umbrella company within which Informative Newspaper operates, alongside sister brands Finite Magazine, Finite Lifestyle Club, Bam Promotions and Twin Talk, Informative Newspaper takes particular interest in social issues and causes created to advance the development of young girls and women and their participation in the global space.
To advance and cement the organization’s support for women and young girls, the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is today, through this issue introduced. Its purpose is to advance knowledge and create further awareness on developments surrounding the said community sector and to help audiences stay updated on such, further guiding means of both action and reaction to these developments.
The journey continues…
Gender-Based Violence (GBV): The WHO estimates that 150 million girls experience forced sex or other forms of sexual violence annually and for many, their first experience of sex is coerced.
Research shows that domestic violence increases the risk of HIV transmission and unwanted pregnancies. Research also shows that exposure to violence during childhood and adolescence increases HIV-related risk-taking behaviour among adolescent girls and young women and in some regions, women who experience violence are 50% more likely to acquire HIV than women who do not.
Lack of sexual autonomy and informed decision making
Young women and girls are frequently unable to determine how and when they have sex and whether they get pregnant. Married girls in particular often cannot choose whether they want to get pregnant and are pressurised by spouses and in-laws to have children as soon as possible. Young women are socialised not to be assertive about their sexuality and sexual needs, further reducing their ability to negotiate sex.
Criminalisation of consensual adolescent sex
Some SADC countries criminalise consensual adolescent sex, creating significant barriers to the access to SRH. Criminalisation not only stigmatises adolescent sexuality; it also undermines the recognition of the evolving capacities of adolescents as set out in various international human rights instruments including the CRC. States may criminalise sex between an adult and a child with a view to protecting children until they reach the age of adulthood.
Limited access to contraception and abortion
The large unmet need for contraception amongst girls and young women in Africa leads to unwanted and unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortions and negative health consequences. Complications related to early pregnancy and child birth are one of the leading causes of death amongst young women, and babies born to adolescent mothers face greater health risks than those born to older women. Adolescent girls are also at higher risk of obstetric fistula.
Child marriage and adolescent pregnancy
Ending child marriage is a critical component of addressing adolescent pregnancy. Regions with the highest prevalence of child marriage, such as sub-Saharan Africa, also have very high rates of adolescent pregnancy and HIV rates amongst young women. Married girls have both the lowest use of contraception and the highest levels of unmet need.
Restrictive laws on abortion in many SADC countries prevent young women and girls from accessing safe abortions and even where abortion is legal, adolescents struggle more than adult women to access abortion and post-abortion care.
In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 36 000 women and girls die each year from unsafe abortion and adolescents are more vulnerable to complications from unsafe abortion than adult women.42 Adolescent girls who get pregnant are less likely to complete their education and unwanted pregnancy and subsequent motherhood can help to perpetuate poverty. Preventing unwanted adolescent pregnancy greatly benefits girls and their families, but it also has significant advantages for communities and society.
Economic consequences of adolescent pregnancy
Adolescent girls who can delay pregnancy are more likely to stay in school and pursue income-earning possibilities. The World Bank’s research shows that investing in programmes that empower girls, including through allowing them to complete their education, do not only benefit girls themselves, but the economy. Their research shows the lifetime opportunity cost related to adolescent pregnancy – measured by the mother’s lost annual income over her lifetime – ranges from 1% of annual gross domestic product (GDP) in China to 30% of annual GDP in Uganda. As an example, the World Bank study illustrates the opportunity costs associated with adolescent pregnancy and dropping out of school in Kenya: if all 1.6 million adolescent girls in Kenya finished secondary school, and if the 220 098 adolescent mothers there were employed instead of having become pregnant, the cumulative effect could have added $3.4 billion to Kenya’s gross income every year.
While the economic costs associated with adolescent pregnancy are significant, the World Bank study emphasises that this analysis underestimates the true cost of not investing in girls. The study looks only at lost productivity in the labour market and does not estimate costs incurred to women’s health, the possible implications for the child’s future productivity as indicated by studies that show that children of adolescent mothers have lower school enrolment rates, and the social costs of unwed adolescent mothers. The true costs, which include lower health status of the children of these girls, lower life expectancy, skill obsolescence of jobless girls, less social empowerment, and so forth would increase the cost estimates many-fold.
Limited access to adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health care and information
The majority of SADC countries do not have laws and policies that clearly set out the rights of adolescents to access sexual and reproductive health services.45 There are too few health facilities that seek to meet the specific SRH needs of adolescents and adolescents, and young women who do seek sexual and reproductive health care are often stigmatised by health care workers and experience discrimination and violations of their right to medical confidentiality and other rights.
Adolescent girls also struggle to access information about their sexual and reproductive health needs. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, only 26% of girls have accurate information about HIV. Young women and girls also lack access to information to help them make informed decisions about how to delay or prevent pregnancy and reduce their risk of STIs, including HIV. There is a critical lack of CSE at schools and programmes that target out of school youth. These gaps lead to high rates of pregnancy, unsafe abortion, HIV and STIs amongst girls and young women.
Lack of access to services to support adolescent girls and young women living with HIV
There are almost no services in SADC countries that target the SRH needs of adolescent girls and young women living with HIV, including giving them accurate information about how to enjoy sex safely, providing them with access to male and female condoms and supporting them to safely discuss their HIV status with sexual partners and their families.
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