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| Thursday, 2 December 2004 |
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Women, girls and HIV AIDS Declining age at menarche & increasing age at marriage are significant issues about pre-martial sexual relationships with opposite six. Even though relatively limited information is available on sexuality patterns of unmarried young persons some recent surveys provide useful insights as to how sexual attitude & behaviour are rapidly changing with serious implications for reproductive health. These studies include information on the prevalence of sexual activity, age at first encounter & source of knowledge of sexuality issues. The socio cultural & health consequences of unprotected sexual behaviour are more severe for young unmarried girls than for boys & are mainly associated with unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion & child bearing. STDs including HIV AIDS & the related social repercussions for girl such as forced termination of education, lower economic opportunities & the social condemnation by the community. Young people who become sexually active early are more likely to change sexual partners & risk grater exposure to STDs including HIV AIDS. Young women are particularly at risk due to biological factors & grater vulnerability to abuse & forced sex. Since many STDs are asymptomatic adolescent women may not even realize that they have an infection. As the cervical mucus of young women is different than that of their older counterparts, this makes them more susceptible. Moreover individuals infected with STDs will increase their risk of contracting or transmitting HIV AIDS. Long-term health effects of untreated STDs include ectopic pregnancy, tubal infertility & chronic pelvic pain in women. In order to adequately address the reproductive health needs of adolescents, concerted efforts are needed not only at policy or programme level but more importantly at the community level. It is found that reproductive health education is most effective & better received when given before a young person become sexually active. The common misconception that provision of information on sexuality in schools leads to increased sexual activity by young people needs to be corrected. These risks are largely avoidable when such educatioin is provided coupled with promotion of life skills & value education. By developing & implementing broad base preventive interventions aimed not only at young persons but also at parents & elders in the community as well as for policy makers & programme managers. In order to improve adolescent reproductive health it is imperative to include gender sensitivity & empowerment of girls into all such programmes in order to make them more gender sensitive & responsible. Strengthening of the legal framework for dealing with cases of rape, incest & prostitution among adolescent girls will be needed. As not all adolescents are in schools at that period in life, out of school adolescents also need to be targeted. In order to effectively address the RH needs of adolescents, service providers both in public, NGO & private sector need special training / skills t be sensitive to the needs of adolescents, to response to their questions & doubts & to provide necessary counselling & treatment including making appropriate referrals. Dr Deepthi Perera, Director / Youth, Elderly, Disabled & Displaced Persons Ministry of Healthcare, Nutrition & Uwa Wellassa Development "Suwasiripaya" |
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