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Aprajita answered on
Sep 23 2021
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STRATEGY FOR ADOLESCENT SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
TABLE OF CONTENT
A. Background
1.1. INTRODUCTION
1.2. PREVALANCE OF SEXULA ABUSE AMONGST ADOLESCENTS
1.3. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
1.4. TEENAGE MOTHERHOOD
1.5. UNSAFE PREGNANCY AND ABORTIONS
1.6. MAKING HEALTH SERVICES AVAILABLE TO ADOLESCENTS
B. The strategy-
A combined approach to better sexual and reproductive health, education and life-aspiration.
2.1. LEGISLATIVE, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHALLENGES AND BOUNDARIES
2.2. Promotion of Comprehensive Sexuality Education
2.3. Ensuring Sexual and Reproductive Health Service Delivery
2.4. Including the Vulnerable as Volunteers
2.5. Making the youth self-sufficient and educated
2.6. Proper Regulation Of Prices of The Health Care Facilities
2.7. Making the Contraceptives available for the adolescents.
2.8 THE GOAL OF THE STRATEGY
2.9. ENSURING THE STRATEGY IS YOUTH FRIENDLY
2.10. BARRIERS
C. TIME FRAMES AND POPULATION SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM TO MONITOR IMPACT OF THE STRATEGY
D. References
Strategy for adolescent sexual and reproductive health
INTRODUCTION
Adolescence
ings many challenges to the growing young population; their bodies change, they experience new emotions, they get vulnerable in terms of human rights abuses, and many more day to day complexities are waiting for them. According to WHO, ‘Adolescents’ are the individuals of the age group 10-19 years, which falls within WHO’s definition of young people; the people of the age group 10-24 years (“Adolescent health,” n.d.). This transition from childhood to adulthood comes with a plethora of changes; from being socially alert to physical and psychological development, people experience different phases. This age is marked by a mindset where the child wants to be independent. They try making their own decisions when to study, what to eat, what to wear, whom to be friends with and everything they can control. Though this sense of self-sufficiency helps them grow and understand the necessities of developing as an individual, it also increases the risk of, exploitation, being su
ounded by the wrong company, and making decisions that can negatively influence their future. Unaware of the cause and consequences, the individual sets on exploring an uncharted sea of ideas that present while growing older year by year.
This phase em
aces an individual’s sexual desire; they learn to control their emotions and direct their sexual urges. The main reason behind this is the hormonal change that they are going through. They experience an upsurge of various feelings; they are attracted to the opposite sex, want to be independent, the sense of independence creates a need to pursue something from which they can earn, and finally have a family they can support. The various challenges faced by the transitioning youth include sexual assaults, early motherhood, increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases, unsafe abortions, unreachability to various health interventions and strategies, and psychosocial pressure.
PREVALANCE OF SEXUAL ABUSE AMONG ADOLESCENTS
The vulnerability of children living in out-of-home care increases; they face a higher risk of being sexually exploited and targeted by delinquents (“Child sexual abuse,” 2020). The long-term mental health effects and the wide-ranging outcomes of any kind of sexual abuse add to the gravity of this issue. From 66.8 per 100,000 in 2010 to 90.2 in 2018, the rates of sexual assault victimization among adolescents rose by more than 30% (“Sexual assault in Australia - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare”, 2020). The matter of concern here is that in 2018-2019, 97% of sexual offenders were male, out of which the maximum number of offenders were reported from the age group 15-19 years (“Sexual assault in Australia - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,” 2020).
A larger group of Aboriginal and To
es Strait Islander children were reported to child protection; this number was 5.2 times more than the non-Indigenous children of the country; it was also found that they were 10.1 times more likely to be living in out-of-home-care facilities, making them more pregnable to such malpractices (CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT- Facts and Statistics, 2019). The data are alarming and advocate the necessity of quick implementation of interventions, policies, and strategies to safeguard adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AMONGST THE ADOLESCENTS (AGE GROUP 15-19 years)
Several sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) possess a threat to the wellbeing of people all over the world; adolescents, especially the age-group of 15-19 years, are at a higher risk of developing it. Chlamydia, HIV, hepatitis, gono
hea, and syphilis add to this list of potential threats to the people. The males are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors than females (“The health of Australia’s males, Sexual health - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,” 2019). In 2015 2.1% of all new HIV diagnoses in Australia were individuals age 19 years or less, with 86.3% between 13 to 19 years of age. In 2012, the second leading cause of mortality in adolescents was HIV/AIDS (Hughes et al., 2019). It was found that chlamydia and gono
hea affect men who have sex with men and Aboriginal and To
es Strait Islander people more than the general population (MIDDLETON & MCDONALD, 2013). Chlamydia is the most common STD among adolescents (AIHW, 2011).
TEENAGE MOTHERHOOD
In 2017, 2.2% births of all the live births were to teenage mothers; this was a total of around 6600 babies- at a rate of 9.2 live births/1000 females (aged 15-19 years) in Australia (“Australia’s children, Teenage mothers - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,” 2020). Girls aged 15 to 19 years old contribute to 11% of births worldwide, and 14% of the maternal deaths were from this age group. It was also found that teenage mothers may experience reduced employment because of their lower education, creating a socioeconomic disadvantage for the child. There are increased chances of issues like premature births, stillbirths, and low birth weight to the babies born to teenage mothers. Eventually, all these factors add up to the increased susceptibility of depressions amongst teenagers.
UNSAFE ABORTIONS
All over the world, 7.4 million adolescent girls undergo unintended pregnancy (International Planned Parenthood Federation 2010 n.d.), and 3 million of them are exposed to unsafe abortion practices (“Preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in developing countries,” 2011). 13% of the total maternal mortality is due to unsafe abortions. Every year approx. Seventy-five million pregnancies have a stillbirth or induced abortions (“Unsafe abortion Sixth edition WHO”, n.d.). The primary causes for unsafe abortions include lack of proper pre-abortion counseling, abortions done by an unskilled person, insertion of objects into the uterus to terminate the pregnancy, and ingestion of...