Social taboos: ‘Sex education for adolescents is crucial’

Health expert says habits developed during adolescence are hard to give up.

LAHORE: Health experts and journalists on Wednesday stressed the need for educating children about physical changes they go through during adolescence and how to deal with them.

They were speaking at a roundtable conference on the importance of Adolescent Development Policy Framework and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH).

The Plan International had organised the event to raise awareness about various issues facing children between 10 and 19 years of age.

“Habits developed during adolescence are hard to give up. The adolescents, therefore, need proper attention and guidance,” said Irfan Ahmed, an expert at the Plan International.

He said children between 10 and 13 years of age should be educated about issues related to health and hygiene. He said those between 14 and 16 years of age should be taught about hormonal changes they undergo during the period. He said girls should be given ‘marriage counselling’ when they turned 16.

Ahmed said such counselling would help prevent the adolescents from obtaining the information from less reliable sources.

Rahnuma – Family Planning Association of Punjab – Regional Director Sarfraz Kazmi talked about the impact that Adolescent Development Policy Framework and Sexual Reproductive Health could have on population control.

He said improving literacy rate among women would help educate young girls about their reproductive health as mothers would serve as a good source of knowledge. He regretted that such services had been stigmatised in the society. He favoured creating a “youth-friendly” environment at basic health units so that they did not hesitate discussing their issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2015.