WGNRR’s participation at the High Level Forum on Adolescent Girls and Agenda 2030

March 16, 2016

WGNRR’s Advocacy Officer Lara Cousins participated as a panelist at the event which focused on how investing in adolescent girls – especially in their education and SRHR – will ensure sustainable development for all.

Theme of the panel:“Leaving no Adolescent Girl behind: Protecting and upholding the rights of every girl”

Moderated by Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth

Panelists:
Hon. Mr. Muruli Mukasa, Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, of Republic of Uganda
Ms. Lara Cousins, Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) and Youth Leadership Working Group
Ms. Katja Iversen, Chief Executive Officer, Women Deliver
Ms. Kathy Calvin, President and CEO, United Nations Foundation
Mr. Will Center, Director IFO, Enterprise and Governance Solutions, Philips

(Min 26-34)

Here is the full text of the intervention as delivered by Lara Cousins:

As we know, when it comes to recognizing young people, adolescents remain particularly invisible in most national and international contexts, where laws, policies, and programmes often fail to acknowledge let alone meet their specific needs. This is especially so for adolescent girls who are made vulnerable by intersecting factors, where they may face barriers not only because they are young and female, but also because of their socioeconomic background, civil status, migrant status, geographic area, HIV status, and whether they are in or out of school, among other issues.

But while it is indeed crucial for us to recognize neglected sub-populations of adolescent girls and the intersecting forms of discrimination they can face, we have to also acknowledge that some needs and rights are more neglected than others, especially for girls who are already made vulnerable. And the reality is that among their most neglected rights are their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

One of the questions I was asked to consider in preparing for today’s panel, was “What are some of the dreams and aspirations adolescent girls may have for themselves and their families?” As an older youth SRHR advocate myself, I don’t really feel I can honestly speak to what the dreams and aspirations of adolescent girls are. What I can do, however, based on our work with members, partners, as well as fellow advocates in the Youth Leadership Working Group, is speak to what their dreams and aspirations are certainly not. Adolescent girls do not dream of being subjected to sexual violence or early or forced marriage. They do not dream of being turned away, humiliated, or ostracized when trying to access the health care and services they need. They do not aspire to being shamed by healthcare providers for engaging in sexual activity, or being accused of “immorality” and eroding “traditional” values.^{^[1]} ^{^[2]} They do not dream of being shunned by their families and communities for choosing or even considering to have an abortion. They do not dream of being forced to carry a pregnancy against their will, or resorting to desperate and unsafe measures to end an unwanted pregnancy, risking their health and lives. And yet in 2016, this is what millions of adolescent girls continue to be subjected to worldwide.

It’s not as if adolescent girls’ right to sexual and reproductive health hasn’t been recognized. The Committee on the Rights of the Child and other human rights bodies have recognized that adolescents and young people are able to make their own decisions about their sexual and reproductive health, in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities;^{^[3]} and that adolescent girls should have access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health information and services that are sensitive to their particular needs and rights.^{^[4]} And of course, at the 1994 ICPD, governments worldwide recognized adolescents and young people as rights holders entitled to sexual and reproductive health services, also reiterated in the Beijing Platform for Action. Yet time and again, adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive rights have not been respected, protected or fulfilled on the ground.

As we know, among the characteristics of human rights is that they are interrelated, interdependent, and indivisible. You need one to realize the other. As such, we cannot talk about respecting and upholding adolescent girls’ rights without respecting and upholding their SRHR, particularly in terms of access to comprehensive sexuality education, and access to youth-friendly health services, including safe abortion. This latter point of course is often the elephant in the room, where, because of prevailing norms and taboos, especially surrounding young female sexuality, it’s often easier to think of these rights in relation to young women who are 18 and up, rather than 18 and under. And when policy makers do think about adolescent girls’ rights, it’s often easier to do so in the narrower context of protecting them from abuses.

But while adolescent girls are indeed made vulnerable to multiple and intersecting forms of violence, recognizing girls as rights holders is not just about shielding them from abuse. It’s about ensuring their holistic wellbeing, and their right to exert meaningful decision-making power over all aspects of their sexual and reproductive lives. And while CSE and access to contraceptives are indeed essential first-line defenses against unwanted pregnancy,^{^[5]} even under ideal circumstances contraceptives can fail. So just as human rights are interdependent, so are adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive rights; meaning that protecting and upholding the rights of every girl also means protecting and upholding every one of her rights, including the right to access safe abortion.

So what does this mean, in light of the 2030 Agenda, and in terms of the human rights investments and interventions needed to address some of the structural barriers hindering adolescent girls’ SRHR, especially for vulnerable girls? In the interests of time, I’d like to conclude by emphasizing three overarching but not exhaustive actions:

First, the need to ensure and expand the provision of CSE and youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, including safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care, that are accessible, affordable, confidential, and high-quality, free of marital and parental consent requirements. This of course entails: community awareness-raising and sensitization with parents, religious and cultural leaders, policy makers, and young people themselves, regarding youth SRHR, and governments’ national, regional and international commitments for young people’s access to SRH services. It also requires strengthening community systems and policy implementation regarding youth SRHR; as well as training health workers to ensure the provision of sensitive, non-judgmental, confidential, and evidence-based care to adolescent girls.
Secondly, we need to think about who it is we’re primarily trying to reach. What I mean by this is the need to not only develop and use youth-friendly materials and means of delivery, but to clearly define our populations, in order to best cater approaches to them and their needs. For example, what might resonate with a sub-group of adolescent girls in one setting might not resonate with those in another, and it might not be so easy to reach target groups if we don’t know their interests, where they spend their days, what they consider safe spaces, if they use any means of transport, their use of and access to technology, and so on. So when thinking of investments and interventions, there’s a need to take into account this diversity, and avoid one-size-fits all approaches.
Of course, knowing how to reach under-served adolescent girls inherently entails the third and last action I’d like to highlight, and arguably the most important of all: namely, the need to ensure an enabling environment for the meaningful participation of adolescent girls in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programmes that will affect their lives. Because only through their central involvement, can we really begin to understand and undertake the means through which to fully remove the barriers they face. Thank you.

^{^[1]} Please see the story of Samuel, who upon accessing Kividea, a youth-serving organization in Tanzania, shared his experience in being unable to access SRH information and services.

^{^[2]} Please see the 2013 PostAbortion Care (PAC) Consortium video, Youth Voices on Post-Abortion Care, sharing young people’s perspectives from Nepal, Senegal, Zambia, Nigeria and Kenya on family planning, unintended pregnancy, post-abortion care, and comprehensive health services for youth.

^{^[3]} See the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 3.1, Art. 5, Art. 12.1 and Art. 24; Also see the Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 4, Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, U.N. Doc. CRC/GC/2003/4 (2003), para. 30.

^{^[4]} United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 4 (2003): Adolescent Health and Development in the Context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 33rd Sess, para 31, U.N. Doc CRC/GC/2003/4 (2003).

^{^[5]} Guttmacher Institute (2016), Adolescents’ Need for and Use of Abortion Services in Developing Countries.