You know what I need? Understanding perspectives of teachers and parents about SRH knowledge, related needs and services for adolescents & youth

Background: Adolescents and Youth in Pakistan have limited access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) knowledge and services, primarily due to socio-cultural setup that considers it a ‘threat to morality. There are fewer sources of information, discussion forums for proper knowledge and there is a lack of youth friendly service delivery points. Given the situation, exploring the parents and teachers’ attitudes towards providing with SRH knowledge to adolescent & young people, discussing sexuality issues, and needs related to SRH, can be an important dimension to analyze the phenomenon and ensuring their healthy future in terms of SRH.

Data & Methodology: Qualitative data was collected for the present study using Focus Group Discussion method. Male teachers and fathers, having at least on adolescent /young boy (age 13 – 24), participated in 8 FGDs conducted in community setting. Following issues were discussed at length:

·         sex, sexuality, reproduction & health related issues that adolescents should know about

·         Ways of informing: curriculum, forums etc. and responsibilities of teachers and parents

·         Possibilities and mechanism of healthy discussion on SRH in cultural context

·         Risks related to STIs /AIDS and how to eliminate them

·         needs and provision of SRH and counseling services: negative and positive perceptions

·         Application, need and implantation of SRH Rights for youth

Policy Relevance: The study highlighted various dimensions of adolescents/youth SRH: the perceptions of key stakeholder in promoting SRH information and services. Recalling their youth time, most of the respondents were in strong favor of equipping young people with proper information and increasing their access to services. Qualitative discussions came up with many points/ relevant suggestions to policy modification and reviewing the approaches to make them realistically workable. The attitudinal issues and cultural inhibition can be targeted specifically through relevant IEC/BCC materials focused on teachers/parents.