By Abasi Ita
Stakeholders within the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, SRHR, circle have called for deliberate efforts from parents and guardians in educating their wards on sexual and reproductive health issues to curtail rising cases of sexual exploitation or abuse of adolescents and young people.
Speaking at a Youth Conference to mark the 2024 World Sexual Health Day in Calabar themed: Healthy Boundaries, Respecting Space and Encouraging Growth, speakers unanimously stated that such posture from parents is urgently needed to break cultural and religious barriers impeding healthy sexual conversations at family levels.
They contended that the grave silence stance exhibited by most parents on such discourse attributable to cultural and religious misconceptions on the matter has only succeeded in exposing vulnerable adolescents to sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse by mischievous individuals.
In a keynote address, the Head of Alumni and Career Services Centre, University of Calabar, Mrs. Grace Ibor posited that parents, guardians, and service providers must be proactive and frontal in educating their wards on the issue of sexuality, irrespective of prevailing ethnoreligious barriers to arm them with vital information to guard against abuses.
According to her; “Sexuality education entails equipping young people with necessary information to assist them understand their sexuality. Such a step would enable them to know what to do to guard themselves when they are outside the watching eyes of their parents.
“These young ones need to know the needful about their body chemistry and how to take care of themselves with regards to sexual health to guide and guard against exposing them to wrong hands. As parents, we must initiate and sustain close conversations with our children to build confidence. We must be patient in listening to them”
Also speaking, the Head of the Programme, Girls Power Initiative GPI, Mrs. Ndodeye Bassey-Obongha said” GPI has initiated and accelerated the discussions on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in collaboration with UNFPA, MDAs, YouthLed and numerous Youth Focused groups. Our common goal is to galvanize the needed support to break barriers predicated on glaring ignorance. Our young people need to be well informed on their sexual and reproductive health rights to curtail abuses and undue exploitations”
“Parents, guardians, or caregivers overseeing the growth of our young people must cultivate harmonious relationships with them to drive effective communication which would in turn facilitate sexuality education. It’s risky for any child to acquire that vital aspect of education from outsiders to avoid unsavory outcomes” Ndodeye posited.
Meanwhile, the Head of Office, of United Nations Population Funds, UNFPA, Dr Andrew Kirima has pledged to sustain the momentum of collaboration between the UNFPA and stakeholders in advancing and achieving set targets for sexual and reproductive health rights campaigns.
Dr Kirima who spoke at the event said: “I am delighted at the existing synergies between critical players in the quest for SRHR and I therefore pledge our readiness as UNFPA toward upscaling current efforts to guarantee optimum impact”
The event featured goodwill messages from the state House of Assembly, line MDAs, a question and answer session on health issues facilitated by the president Medical Women Association of Nigeria Dr. Minika Okon, panel discussion, choreography, and Spoken Words.