THE Meeting of Caribbean Youth Leaders on sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS has concluded with participants advocating a review of the age of consent not being aligned with the age when most young people are allowed to access sexual and reproductive health services.

This objective echoed sentiments by St Vincent and the Grenadines, Health, Wellness and the Environment and Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Chair Robert Browne, who delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony on Friday, April 21.

“The disparity between the age of consent and access to sexual health services is a shame,” Browne said during his address.

He added: “As young people, we must challenge policymakers to review this, since it has a direct impact on young people contracting HIV and AIDS.”

During a group activity to create a framework for Youth Advocacy on Sexual and Reproductive Health, youth leaders said that they were concerned that most young people are allowed to engage in sexual activity before they can legally access sexual and reproductive health services.

According to Raymoniya Lawrence, a representative of The Caribbean Forum for Liberation and Acceptance of Genders and Sexualities (CariFLAGS), “It is unacceptable that a young man or woman can legally engage in sexual activity, but not allowed to access critical sexual health services. This has a direct impact on preventing new HIV infections. We need our policymakers to join the conversation on this issue.”

Youth leaders further agreed to explore opportunities to engage policymakers within their home countries and committed to utilising their advocacy platforms and organisations to further the agenda for a change to the age of consent and accessing sexual health services.

Participants also voiced concerns about the lack of comprehensive sexual education programmes in Caribbean schools.

CONVERSATION

In creating a framework for action, youth leaders proposed that policymakers join in a conversation on the creation of sexual education programmes for schools across the Region as a tool to educate youth about sexual health issues and HIV and AIDS.

PANCAP Director Dereck Springer in his closing remarks, committed to seeking opportunities for youth leaders to engage policymakers within the Region on the key objectives raised during the meeting.

He commended the participants for contributing to the development of a framework which will outline the pivotal concerns of youth regarding sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, and pledged the support of PANCAP in helping the participants to take their concerns to the highest level.

Funded by the Global Fund and PAHO, the meeting forms part of a wider intervention programme created by PANCAP for youth advocacy.

Youth advocacy training, facilitating youth leaders’ participation in high-level meetings to influence policy decisions affecting youth and the development of a regional youth advocacy network, are other interventions slated for implementation.

The overarching aim is to create a well-informed youth advocacy body that can advance the concerns of young people on sexual and reproductive health services and HIV/AIDS.

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners, which was established on February 14, 2001.

PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilise resources and build capacity of partners.