IPPF and young people

1
IPPF and young people

• Rights based programming
• Ankara , 2006
• Doortje Braeken
• Senior Adviser Adolescents/Young People
• IPPF, London

2
Who are we?

• World largest voluntary organisation on sexual
  and reproductive health and rights working in
  more than 180 countries
• 5 strategic areas
• Adolescents
• Abortion
• AIDS
• Access
• Advocacy

3
Who are young people?
4
Our challenge mismatch of youth programs and
the reality of their lives

• Young people are seen as a genderless mass
• Young people seen as problems
• Neglecting power relations between boys/girls
  adults and young people
• Oversimplifying safer sex strong focus on
  abstinence

5
A new way of youth programming the rights based
approach

• How do we perceive young people ask different
  questions
• Prescribing behaviour versus valuing personal
  choices
• Focuses on the process and not only the outcomes
• Shifts the focus and role of us young people in
  programs from recipients to actors
• Challenging the use of culture as an excuse for
  violating or infringing individual
  rights/integrity
• Developing a culture of listening to the voices
  of young people

6
Rights based youth programming in IPPF

• Promotes
• Positioning young people as sexual beings
• Self-reliance and responsibility making young
  people aware of their rights
• Quality of services to young people
• Participation
• Challenging harmful practices and violation of
  rights
• Addressing the needs of vulnerable and
  underserved young people

7
IPPFs Rights of Young People

• The right to be yourself
• The right to know
• The right to be protected and protect yourself
• The right to have health care
• The right to be involved

8
IPPFs priorities in rights based programming

• Youth participation
• Youth Friendly services

9
Youth participation in IPPF

• Young people are more than implementers of
  projects and peer educators
• They are decision makers and advocates

10
Youth Participation - Activities

• 20 on highest Governing Board is under 24
• Regional Youth Action Movements
• Youth working groups
• Young people as researchers

11
Youth Friendly services

• IPPFs role is to create a demand for
  comprehensive sexual and reproductive health
  services especially among the vulnerable, poor
  and marginalized groups, and to be prepared to
  meet that demand

12
Who is a friend? What do I want in a service?

• Not condescending, or patronizing, just with
  some dignity and respect UK
• I want to be made comfy Botswana
• They should not neglect or underestimate any
  problem that might seem trivial to them Iraq

• when they give me their trust and show me that
  they can stay with me during the good and bad
  times Mexico
• someone to whom I can say anything without
  worrying how theyll take it Lesotho
• someone I could talk to about anything UK

13
Focus on Youth Friendly Services

• Moving from quantity to quality.
• Providerclient interaction
• Where to deliver services?

14
Youth Friendly services - activities

• Making the links between education and services
  comprehensive sexuality education
• Making linkages between parents, schools and
  religious leaders
• Self assessment guidelines for services,
  participation and sexuality education
• Study on youth centres do they work?

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A youth centre works when..

• it is friendly, safe, available and accessible
• it doesnt want to be everything to everyone
• it mirrors the needs of the young people it
  serves
• it has the commitment of the community
• It is in the heart of the community and has out
  reach activities
• it has the right balance between recreation and
  services

16
Reaching the most vulnerable and underserved

• Young people living with HIV
• Young displaced people
• Young people with a disability
• Homosexual, bisexual and transgender youth
• Young married girls/mothers
• Young men

17
Rights based approaches questions to ask..

• Are you really reaching the underserved by being
  willing to fold our sleeves and get dirty?
• Do you provide continuous support for adults and
  young people to work together?
• Is the peer education strategy empowering both
  the educator and the recipient?

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Questions.

• Do our programmes accept and respect young people
  as sexual beings?
• Do we ensure that our programmes are not based
  purely on morality, like abstinence till
  marriage?
• Do our programmes promote choice, rights and
  overall wellbeing and happiness?

19
Finally

• There are not quick-fix
• solutions
• we need to make a real
• effort to reach
• those young people
• for whom vulnerability
• to sexual and reproductive health
• issues is a life-altering reality
• Be brave and angry!!