often, young people do not get even the most basic sexuality education from these sources and misinformation about sex and its consequences remains common.
Myths surrounding certain forms of contraception on weight gain, links to cancer and fertility are very common among my peers. However, research has repeatedly found that sex education which provides accurate, complete, and developmentally appropriate information on human sexuality, including risk-reduction strategies and contraception helps young people take steps to protect their health, including delaying sex, using condoms or contraception, and being monogamous.
— Women Deliver (@WomenDeliver) November 4, 2015
Denying information and services to young people does not protect them from harm; rather, it increases the likelihood that when sexual activity does occur, it will be unprotected.
The Role of Young Men and Boys
They have a saying that you cannot buy a sweet and eat it in a wrapper. . . . If you want to show your girlfriend full love, you have to eat her live [have sex without a condom]. Uganda, 21 year old Male
Gender norms have traditionally assigned the role of childbearing and child-rearing to women. Matters relating to fertility, reproductive health and family planning were also considered to be within this domain. However, challenging these norms and evidence for increased male involvement when it comes to contraception is yielding positive outcomes. A lot of work needs to be done to demystify myths surrounding contraception namely: (i) perceived side effects of female contraceptive methods which disrupt sexual activity, (ii) concerns that women’s use of contraceptives will lead to extramarital sexual relations.
Furthermore, it is not uncommon for young people, especially females, to be coerced into having sex. Men and boys have a vital role to play in preventing sexual coercion and violence. Programs that counteract societal norms about masculinity that perpetuate violence against women, so as to instill a higher standard of sexual responsibility in young men should be encourages. Men of all ages must be educated about responsible sexual behaviour, and be encouraged to treat women as equals and respect them. Lastly, there needs to be cutting edge research that will expand the current limited choices of available male contraceptives.
Over the past 50 years, birth control for women has been refined to the point that there are now dozens of alternatives that are far safer than pregnancy, many of which have added benefits like reducing menstrual symptoms, acne, or even the risk of cancer. The array includes three kinds of long-acting “fit and forget” contraceptives that are over 20 times better than the familiar “pill” but allow a quick return to normal fertility. But, after all this time, men are still stuck choosing between two century-old choices: condoms and vasectomies. Better Birth Control for Men: 8 Promising Possibilities
From Invisible to Visible
When considering young people, it is important to recognize and address the diverse of needs of young people. These include but are not limited to young married couples, sexually and non-sexually active teenagers, young mothers, mentally and physically challenged, sexual minorities and domestic workers. It is also important that programming work and policy development often do not include young people that are in different circumstances like refugees, street children, poor and uneducated youth who all have rights and varying contraceptive needs that should be comprehensively addressed. Finally, to ensure we leave no one behind and avoid reinforcing chronic inequalities, we must encourage innovation and development of new methods to expand contraceptive choices for all people. As parents, researchers, policymakers and educators alike, it is in our collective best interests to help meet the needs of young people by ensuring access to contraceptives is widespread, well funded, supported and protected.