I had the privilege to be invited to make a presentation as a panellist during the Health and Wellbeing session at the Youth Pre-STC, under the theme “Youth issues on Sexual and Reproductive Health/Reproductive Rights (SRH & RR) and Mental Health: “Taking stock of what is being done, identifying key priorities moving forward.” The first question I was asked to respond to in my presentation was: “As an advocate for youth SRH and RR and knowing the current trend of SRH and RR issues that youth are facing in Africa: What is your Vision for the next five years?
This is how I responded to the question:
“In the next 5 years, Africa should become more comfortable talking openly and positively about sex and sexuality with adolescents and young people.
The subject of sex should become normalised in the home, at school and the clinic. It should come from the recognition that it is normal for the adolescent to be interested in relationships, romance, sex and love and at some point, engage in normative sexual conduct.”
I acknowledge the difficulty parents and adults have in talking about sex and sexuality openly. A topic such as masturbation, for instance, would be scary and painful for any parent to discuss with their teenage daughter. Yet is this very secrecy and inability to talk about sex and sexuality that contributes to challenges in sexual and reproductive mental health for adolescents. An intimate understanding of one’s body and emotional world, regarding sexuality, with the guidance of an adult, is critical for the adolescent to validate and value their bodies and emotions. Understanding and knowing one’s body and sexual feelings is necessary for adolescents to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive mental, and emotional health.
A significant barrier to sexual and reproductive mental health is the criminalisation of services such as abortion, the criminalisation of sexual behaviours that are normative, such as consensual and non-exploitative sex between adolescents, and criminalising persons based on sexual orientation and gender diversity. Such laws block open and frank conversations about sexuality and alienate adolescents from their bodies and emotions.
For instance, Nyale Institute has observed that in cases of sexual violence that results in pregnancy among minors, one crucial challenge is the inability of the girl to open up about her ordeal to her parents or adults because it would mean she has to talk about sex, which is a taboo. Further, bringing up the subject tends to have a backlash on the survivor because society starts to scrutinise the girl’s sexuality and sexual conduct. In countries where access to safe abortion is restricted, this leads to further challenges because the girl is compelled to keep an unwanted and unsupported pregnancy. It does not take a mental health expert to point out that such experiences will negatively impact the sexual and reproductive mental health of the adolescent girl.
The inability of adults to openly discuss sex and sexuality with their adolescents, the criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health services, normative sexual behaviours, and criminalising conduct because of sexual orientation or gender identity have a tremendous toll on the sexual and reproductive mental health of adolescents in the African region.
There is no shortcut to achieving sexual and reproductive mental health that avoids open and frank talk about sex and sexuality between adults and adolescents or overlooks the elimination of all laws that criminalise sexual and reproductive health services such as abortion. African cannot attain sexual and reproductive mental health if it continues to criminalise normative sexual behaviours or criminalise persons because of sexual and gender identities. Even if social morality may still govern people’s relationships, the states have obligations under international and regional human rights law to respect the rights of persons, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Adolescents will continue to face challenges to achieve the highest attainable state of sexual and reproductive mental health unless African governments fully implement the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its protocols, including the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the African Youth Charter.
Therefore, Nyale Institute (Malawi) in partnership with the Center for Reproductive Rights (Kenya) and the Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (Malawi) continue to support the efforts of African governments to enable access to safe abortion in accordance with the Maputo Protocol, to protect the sexual and reproductive mental health of adolescents and young people, including in situations where the pregnancy is a result of sexual violation
