I was able to attend a panel organized by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) at the 55th Commision on the Status of Women this past Wednesday. The women of the panel called for more targeted interventions, specifically amongst young girls, to prevent them from feeling socially excluded and powerless.
The IPPF panel highlighted the significance of providing Gender and Youth Programs not only to in-school girls and boys, but to the most vulnerable populations. Although most countries have declared the minimum legal age of marriage to be 18, some 10 million teenage girls marry every year, a majority of them without completing secondary school education. At least 2.5 million adolescent pregnancies each year lead to unsafe abortion and at least 111 million new cases of curable STIs occur among young people.
The IPPF framework for Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) is formed around the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child and declares that all persons have the right to education. "Decisions need to be made with free, educated, and full consent and this information must be offered before young people become sexually active, not afterwards," stated Flora Hunt, a member of the Advocacy team at IPPF.
As many of you already know, Planned Parenthood is under attack in the United States. If you are concerned and live in the New York Area, please come out and show your support tomorrow: Rally For Women's Health
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