Tuesday 13 May 2008

Who:Save the Children Sweden

What:Launch: Tell me More:    Children's Rights and Sexuality in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Africa

When:Tuesday 13th May 2008 , 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

Where: Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi

How do children in sub-Saharan Africa deal with their sexuality and relationships in the face of HIV/AIDS?

In all cultures around the world, sex and sexuality are sensitive issues – often relegated to the private realm.  However, society creates the values that control sexuality, thus the huge gap between what adults think children need to protect themselves and what children themselves think.

Tell Me More:  Children’s Rights and Sexuality in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Africa is based on a review of studies conducted in 13 African countries, among them Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Ethiopia and Zambia.

It presents an overview of the strategies children adopt for dealing with sexuality and relationships in the face of HIV/AIDS and is targeted at providing stakeholders with rights-oriented and a child-oriented knowledge base for the development of a sexual and reproductive health agenda.

The report acknowledges that children express their sexuality differently depending on their cultural background, access to information, social and economic status and their experience of sexual abuse.  However, the study found that young children are rarely targeted in HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual and reproductive health initiatives and they are rarely asked their opinion about the services provided in their name.

The report shows that between 10-18% of females and 11-17% of males in the selected countries were reported as having sex before the age of 15. This calls for access to sexuality education at an earlier age, before children are getting sexually active, in order to prevent HIV.

Children find sexuality education provided in schools and their communities to be too technical, negative and moralistic.  Also it does not address their quest for practical information on love, body image, relationships and how to negotiate safe sex.

The report confirms findings from Kenya which show that young people not only prefer to get information from their peers, but that teachers and adults are often moralistic and judgmental when talking to them on matters of sexuality. Many Kenyan children point out that adults are out of touch with the reality on the ground on matters of sexuality and are therefore unable to offer them the support they need during the period of transition to adulthood.

The report clearly shows the need for African countries to honor global commitments made such as the MDGs and the United Nations Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) to invest more in the protection of African children against HIV/AIDS and to put in place safety nets to cushion them against the impact of pandemic. It also calls for the recognition of the participation of young people in programs meant to improve their social development and general well being.

The study is augmented with the programmatic work of Save the Children Sweden and the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) that documents children’s opinions about the services and education their receive on sexuality and HIV/AIDS.

In the study, children expressed their concern about the need for privacy and confidentiality, lower costs and easier access to youth friendly sexual health services. They also prefer getting information about sexuality from younger people and those who discuss sexuality in a positive, non-judgmental way.

Contact Persons

George Ojuondo                                                       Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando

Regional Communications Officer                              Executive Director

Save the Children Sweden                                         Centre for the Study of Adolescence

Tel. 020 386 5888/90, 0721 854 952                           Tel. 020 4445951, 020 44522040      

Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it                      0722 738 357

                                                                              Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it