Realizing Access to Sexual Health Information and Services for Adolescents Through the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women
Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 135-172, 2009
Posted: 17 Nov 2010
Date Written: November 17, 2010
Abstract
This article examines the factors limiting access to comprehensive sexual health information and services for adolescents in Africa. It then examines the relevance of human rights provisions contained in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and the latest human rights instrument in the region, the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women (African Women’s Protocol) in advancing the sexual health of adolescents in the region. The article argues that, these regional human rights instruments have provisions that can be invoked to advance access to sexual health information and services for adolescents. It particularly argues that given the fact that female adolescents are more disposed to sexual ill health in the region than their male counterparts; the African Women’s Protocol provides a very unique opportunity to address the sexual health needs of female adolescents. The article concludes that the success or otherwise of the application of the African Women’s Protocol to meet the challenges of female adolescents in the region, depends largely on the commitment of African governments.
Keywords: Adolescents, sexual health, Africa, African Women's Protocol
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