Improving sexual health of young people and girls, including comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), promoting menstrual health and youth-friendly service delivery
The rapid biological and psychological changes that take place during adolescence affect all areas of life, including sexual and reproductive health. Young people’s first experiences of sexuality, including sexual
Young people make up over 50% of the population in some developing countries, yet their voices and concerns relating to sexual and reproductive health are often overlooked or neglected.
Definition
We define young people as 10 to 24 years old. Adolescents are those aged 10 to 19 years old.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education aims to ensure that young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to make responsible choices about their sexual and social relationships. Quality sexuality education aims to transform gender norms, tackle stigma related to sexual orientation and reproductive choices. It also includes elements of sex positivity and communication about pleasure.
Menstruation is a normal biological process and a key sign of reproductive health. Yet girls suffer by being ostracised from families, communities and schools when they have their periods.
Youth-friendly services respond to young people’s sexual and reproductive health needs without judgement and protect anonymity. Quality services respond to the diversity of young people’s lives and needs and are designed in conjunction with young people themselves.
The Situation
Each year, there are over six million unintended pregnancies among adolescents, most of whom do not have access to modern contraceptive methods. Among almost 21.2 million women who experience unsafe abortion globally each year, almost half are young women.
After the onset of puberty, the risk of depressive disorders increases substantially among girls who remain 1.5-2 times more likely than boys to be diagnosed with depression. This feature of adolescence is thought to be closely linked to the role of rigid and exploitative gender norms.
Across the world women and girls are stigmatised because of menstruation and there is a general lack of information on how to manage menstruation with dignity.
What do we fund?
We are an extensive funder of advocacy for comprehensive sexuality education as a part of the national curriculum. We support civil society to hold government to account for following commitments to expand and improve the quality of comprehensive sexuality education.
As digital access rapidly increases, online strategies have become an increasingly important compliment to classroom-based or other face-to-face sex education. We also support initiatives to hold health authorities to account for providing youth-friendly services.
We have an extensive network of grantees working to tackle stigma related to menstrual health and increase access to menstrual health products.