SRHR Education with Teachers

SRHR- Sexual and reproductive health and rights or SRHR is the concept of human rights applied to sexuality and reproduction

Young girls in schools face significant barriers in accessing the essential sexual and reproductive health information they need, and teachers being stakeholders in disseminating the information to adolescent girls in schools; we saw it ardent to train teachers on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights for adolescents this is thanks to AmplifyChange. Sexual health is about more than just the physical relationships between girls and boys. It is about choosing healthy lifestyles. It is also about knowing how to keep safe and protect the body from harm. Equally important, it is about self-esteem, about respecting oneself and other people, about developing healthy relationships, about giving and seeking support.

Teachers play a vital role in ensuring school going children know about their sexual health as schools are sites where some of the most distressing concerns relating to SRHR originate i.e. unwanted pregnancies, sexual abuse, early marriage and HIV/AIDS. Why does teen pregnancy persist despite stringent measure put aside to address it? Some causes of teen pregnancy include but is not limited to;

• Lack of information on sexuality
• Poverty
• Peer pressure to engage in premarital sex
• Some cultural practices
• Rape
• broken families and poor parenting
• wrong media content for young people.

What can we do to tackle teen pregnancy?

• Appropriate parental guidance
• Young girls should be empowered
• Inclusion of boys in sex education
• Introduce sex education in schools
• Teach and encourage sexual abstinence

It is the job of parents and schools to teach teens about the negative effects of teenage pregnancy. The parents can strongly influence their children’s decisions by taking the time to be involved when the issue of sex arises. The schools can also do their part by providing the necessary information on preventing pregnancies and by encouraging teens to make responsible choices when having sex. Therefore, the responsibility of adults is to provide teens with a thorough understanding of abstinence, contraceptive techniques, and the consequences of sexual activity.

Why is there a need for Comprehensive Sexuality Education in schools?

• Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is necessary to ensure healthy sexual and reproductive lives for adolescents.
• Because CSE is not exclusively for sex ed it improves knowledge and self-confidence by positively changing attitudes and gender norms; strengthen decision-making and communication skills and build self-efficacy.
• It builds self-acceptance and attitudes for interpersonal relationships
• Increases level of sexual responsibilities among adolescents
• Reduces teenage pregnancy and STI’s