A new study on sexual reproductive health here has found that 12% of Guyanese girls are having sex before the age of 15 and another 15% are beginning childbearing during their adolescence years.

These findings are contained in a soon to be launched report by the Guyana Bureau of Statistics and United Nations Children’s Education Fund. (UNICEF) Deputy Representative Paolo Marchi has concluded that Guyana needs to address issues associated with sexual reproductive health rights.

The report, a UNICEF methodology applied worldwide and under the leadership of the Bureau of Statistics here, has data from 2014 and was done using a survey system. Providing a sneak peek into its findings, Marchi said 15 percent of adolescent girls in Guyana begin childbearing; 12 percent had sex before they were 15-years-old; and 62 percent had unmet contraceptive needs.
Marchi was speaking at the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association’s (GRPA) launch of the local leg of the “Know It, Own It!” Campaign at Cara Lodge, in Georgetown.

SEXUALITY EDUCATION TOOLKIT

The UN official lauded the fact that the GRPA took the opportunity to also launch a comprehensive sexuality education toolkit that seeks to shift from Guyana’s official “Abstinence Only” approach to sex education.
Marchi observed that the toolkit is essential because adolescents need access to such information in order to make informed decisions.

The toolkit is designed for use by peer educators, teachers, facilitators, parents, social workers and anyone working with youths.

GRPA feels that Guyana’s “Abstinence Only” approach to sex education has not been working and that a deeper approach to fit today’s society is needed. As such, it decided to develop the comprehensive sexuality education toolkit.

Programme Director Renuka Anandjit told this newspaper that the thrust of the campaign is to ensure that the rights of youths are upheld and to motivate government and stakeholders to design programmes to meet their needs. GRPA is hoping that that the toolkit will be a resource to the Ministries of Education and Public Health, partners and other stakeholders.

Executive Director Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth gave credit to Red Thread for helping the organization to develop the toolkit, and noted how the GRPA is joining with the global campaign to reach as many persons and communities as possible with educational and empowering messages on why their sexual rights and health matter.

She offered that the toolkit is user-friendly and that although many hard copies are not available, the report can be reached on GRPA’s website.
Meanwhile, GRPA said recently that in recent years the organization has been calling for a shift from the abstinence only approach to a comprehensive approach to sex education, taking into consideration the urgency of the current situation where young people are becoming sexually active at a very tender age, both forced and voluntarily, and where teenage pregnancy, sexual violence and irresponsible sexual behaviour, are prevalent. GRPA observed how in 2014, the Guyana Government endorsed the CARICOM Integrated Strategic Framework for the Reduction of Adolescent Pregnancy in the Caribbean but the implementation mechanisms are still to be established. “We would be happy to support initiatives of the Guyana Government, partners and other stakeholders, with the hope that Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) will be widely introduced in schools,” GRPA said.

“The Association will seek to further engage the government, civil society and faith-based organisations to propel the Comprehensive Sexuality Agenda for the benefit of in-and-out-of school youth.
“It is our hope that under the ‘Know It, Own It Campaign’, GRPA and partners will be able to meaningfully engage stakeholders and also provide access to CSE for young people in and out of school in an age appropriate and culturally relevant manner and that this effort will result in a healthier youth population and a healthier nation,” GRPA said.