SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEEDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVED IN NON-CONSENSUAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY

Sexual reproductive health and rights most times generally operate on the premises that young people are engage in consensual sexual activity, but unfortunately sexual abuse is common among young people and victims of sexual violence have a different sexual and reproductive health needs from young people who have consensual sexual activity and it should be delivered accordingly.

One of the strategy developed for the prevention of HIV/AIDS is the provision of sexual and reproductive health services for young people but providing medical response effort for sexual violence for young people is not majored in the plan because little or no response is provided for victims of sexual violence. Most times when defining interventions for young people, we should realize that there are two categories of young people. First are young people who involve in consensual sexual activity and second are young people who involve in non-consensual sexual activity and both demands different sexual and reproductive health needs.

Young people who involve in non-consensual sexual activity face greater health risks and needs comprehensive services delivered to them because young people who involve non-consensual sexual activities do not use protection because they are forced. They suffer from physical and emotional traumas of sexual assaults and rape. They are at risk of injuries (cuts and bruises) unwanted pregnancy, STIs including HIV and AIDS (chronic complications of STIs include reproductive system cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility). Sometimes young people are forced to make decisions to go through unsafe abortion which may lead to long life disability, infertility or death. They also face mental health which includes post traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, low self esteem.

Unfortunately, sexual and reproductive health services do not meet the need of this category of young people because health care workers and program planners already assume what young people sexual reproductive health needs is supposed to be. It is wrong to assume a young person need but instead it should rather involve them in interventions met for them, seek for their sexual and reproductive health needs regardless of which categories a young person belong.

Creating medical response efforts for sexual violence among young people help to attend to emergency needs of the healthy and development of young people. It is will reduces the risks of STIs and HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy, health complications even death and among people. It will take care and help out their emotional traumas reducing their risk behaviours and use of substance. Young people is about one fifth of world population, provision of protection and care for them should be an important subject.

The reality remains that sexual violence is a global problem among young people and it comes with consequences to the sexual and reproductive health and development of young people, the need to create or include a medical response effort in the sexual and reproductive health services to take care of both the physical and psychological need of a young person is crucial.