"When the girl becomes pregnant, we will give her the skills she needs" These were the comments echoed by a community member in reaction to the provision of comprehensive sexuality education. Negative community perceptions, limited knowledge on the importance of sexuality education, the fact that comprehensive sexuality education is not an examinable subject in learning institutions, and limited knowledge among parents in comprehensive sexuality education promotes unintended pregnancy, cases of sexual violence as well as sexually transmitted infections. Different communities perceive the provision of comprehensive sexuality education as encouraging sex activity among young people and also consider CSE to be a social norm.
Girls as young as nine years are becoming pregnant and boys within this age bracket are developing sexually transmitted infections. Childhood pregnancies and STIs have negative consequences ranging from miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies even death as a result of backstreet abortions. Should we then wait till young girls become pregnant or should we also adopt prevention? In my view and maybe in the view of many, it would be better to prevent deaths and diseases. The involvement of parents as primary stakeholders in age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education provides parents as well as guardians with an understanding of how it will work and why it should be in place.
In my thinking, some parents may not be conversant with sexuality concerns of their children. Many parents see it as taboo to talk to their teenagers about sex. So they go and gather information from their peers which sometimes they can be misinformed. Some believe all children can do away with matters relating to sex but let us also acknowledge the fact that sex is not only about having intercourse but any sexual advancement, physical touch, or sexual expression.
An alternative strategy to promoting CSE is addressing the push and pulls between the relevant ministry and the civil society organizations in having harmonized data. We should understand that comprehensive sexuality education also teaches young adolescents about gender-based violence prevention and in particular it promotes healthy well-being, human rights, and gender equality. It empowers teenagers and young adolescents to live safe and productive lives. CSE includes a wide range of information that is gender identity, and skills to develop healthy and meaningful relationships seeing that young adolescents are killing each other over love and other issues arise.