Sexual Health and Rights conference takes place in Sierra Leone

Sexual and gender-based violence among African youths

According to the UN, Africa is considered the ‘youngest’ continent in the world. 70% of its people are under 30 years old.

With such a young population, economic growth and innovation will be highly dependent on decision-making jobs being available for Gen Zers in the future. Current rates of sexual and gender-based violence in Africa is a significant obstacle in making that possible, however.

For example, the World Health Organization says that more than 150 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation in African countries and the continent accounts for over 80% of all practices.

Child marriage has affected classroom attendance rates too, especially in remote communities. Protecting this right to education has been a major challenge, despite laws that criminalise marriages between children.

During the pandemic, most African nations saw widespread school closures, alongside an increase in child marriage and teenage pregnancies. Africa remains the highest continent for teenage pregnancy, with at least one in five women aged 20-24 giving birth by the age of 18.

Last week a report by the Ministry of Health indicated that, in 2021, a total of 317,644 adolescent girls became pregnant in Kenya, making the country the third highest for teenage pregnancies globally.

Additionally, 98 new HIV infections were recorded every week among adolescents aged between 10 and 19.

According to the Ministry, this was caused by the triple threat of new HIV infections, gender and sexual violence, and adolescent pregnancies.

More than 1.4 million Kenyans are living with HIV as of 2021. Teenage pregnancies are clear evidence of unprotected sex that carries other, additional risks.

Children aged 0-4 years accounted for over 78,000 of the infected population, with the vulnerability of young women attributed to poverty, a lack of education, and poor employment opportunities.

The Ministry – through the National Aids Control Council – has launched a new countrywide campaign dubbed “End the Triple Threat”, meant to end the three key issues affecting the young.

Other countries such as Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Gambia, Ghana, and Nigeria, among others, have shown a high increase in teenage pregnancies over the past few years.

The conference resolutions

Body rights issues and gender equality were at the forefront of conversation for the conference. More African girls and women are to be included in elective positions as well as decision-making talks in future.

At the closing ceremony, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio made an announcement concerning the approval of the “Safe Motherhood Bill”. He promised to further decriminalize women who seek to have choices over their own bodies during pregnancy.

In a statement, Plan International indicated that human rights and gender justice are both critical in ensuring that the continent’s shared goals, principles, and promising initiatives are met.