We were thrilled to see IPPF youth campaigner Joshua Isikeli Sefesi presented with a Queen’s Young Leaders Award at Buckingham Palace. The inspiring young Tongan was invited to London to receive his award from the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex watched on, along with sports personality David Beckham, former British prime minister John Major and comedian Lenny Henry.   Joshua received his award for the transformative work he is doing to raise awareness of sexual reproductive health and women’s rights in his community in Tonga. Upon receiving his award, Joshua described the event as: “Mind-blowing, such an incredible opportunity and privilege to represent my country and receive an award from the Queen herself.” Exciting young change-makers Joshua helps to educate young people in his community about prevalent issues faced by women and girls, such as teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence.  He holds sessions with men to educate them on equality and safe sexual practices, informs women about the support available to them, and is a champion for better quality, comprehensive sex education. The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards programme, now in its fourth and final year, celebrates the achievements of some of the most exciting young change-makers from across the Commonwealth.  This year’s cohort from 38 Commonwealth countries are finding solutions to global issues such as climate change, food scarcity, gender-based violence, mental health, and access to education.  “Hope and optimism” As a Queen’s Young Leader, Joshua has gained access to bespoke mentoring and training through the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education.  Joshua says he told the Queen “that with this award I will inspire other people, and she told me to continue to do more.” Asked what he will do in the future, Joshua said “I hope to approach people that are involved in governments and especially in schools as well, so we can negotiate something to include [my work] in the schools, and to reach out for more young people.” The Queen’s Young Leader programme was designed to develop the recipients’ leadership skills further, and ensure they are best placed to lead the way in the future to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues. We look forward to seeing what incredible progress Joshua makes next. The Duke of Sussex put it best when giving a speech about the 240 recipients of the award: “You are the hope and optimism the world needs and we will all do whatever we can to support you in it.” Find out more about the Queen's Young Leaders programme

By Akosua Agyepong,Youth Volunteer at Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), IPPF member association. This was how I learnt about sex; my mother called me into her room, she was holding a newspaper in her hand. In that paper, there was a report on the rising number of cervical cancer cases in the country and then she said: “Akosua, now you are menstruating, if you sleep with any boy, you can get some of this cervical cancer.” That was the end, and then she asked me to leave. I don’t think her aim was to educate me but it was to scare me out of having sex. I believe for most youngsters in my country, that’s the reality. At home, there isn’t a discussion about sex but a horror story on the troubles sex could put you in, so that young people totally abstain. However, there are two wrongful assumptions that preachers of abstinence make. The first is the assumption that scary stories about sex would keep their virginities intact and secondly that sexuality education is all about sex and thus encourages sex. On the first assumption, we find that evidence shows that young people would have sex whether or not they hear those scary stories because sex is emotionally and hormonally driven and emotions and hormonal activity cannot be suppressed by daunting stories of death and curses. In fact, the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education shows how sexuality education has positively impacted the lives of young people in terms of delaying the initiation of sexual intercourse and what not to do to stay safe and healthy.  If for nothing at all, the Puritan age showed us that restricting sex to marriage and punishing pre-marital sex by fines, public shaming and even death could not suppress human emotions and pre-marital sex even in that age still persisted. UNESCO’s updated guidelines on sexuality education also disprove the claim that "sexuality education is all about sex", putting it to rest entirely. The guidance shows how sexuality education speaks to key concepts: Relationships, Values, Rights, Culture and Sexuality, Understanding Gender, Violence and Staying Safe, Skills for Health and Well-being, The Human Body and Development, Sexuality and Sexual Behaviour and finally Sexual and Reproductive Health. The instructional guide provides evidence that when young people are taken through Comprehensive Sexuality Education, they will not be learning the details of the Kama Sutra but they will have first-hand information about themselves and their health and well-being that improves their chances of becoming a successful person in future. It is a shame that many people misunderstand what Comprehensive Sexuality Education is, and are totally oblivious to its benefits to us as families, societies, nations and continents. Some individuals and organizations even go the extra mile of petitioning governments to take CSE out of school curricula. To them my final and only word is that scary stories don’t save lives, Comprehensive Sexuality Education does. Perhaps reading the UNESCO Guidance can help them understand this better.

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a sex education approach that focuses not only on the reproductive aspects of sexuality, but also on the emotional and social aspects that young people need to determine their sexuality and thrive in their lives. CSE sees sexuality in a holistic way and in the context of emotional and social development and considers young people as sexual beings. The most recent national health survey carried out by the DHS program in Guinea has shown some severe issues which highlight young people’s need for good quality sexuality education. For example: 63% of girls get married before the age of 18 More than a quarter (26%) of adolescent girls are mothers 90.6% of adolescent girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) The rate of HIV/AIDS is 50 times higher for girls than for boys More than a quarter (26.5%) of girls (aged 10-24) have experienced violence More than a quarter (26.1%) of adolescents and young people (aged 10-24) are out of school Indeed, despite the efforts made, sexuality remains a taboo subject for us in Guinea, because it is influenced by religions and customs, which creates reluctance, fear and refusal of information for young people, some of whom are already sexually active. Young people and adolescents still do not receive adequate services tailored to their sexual and reproductive health needs. Most families in Guinea do not dare to talk about sex at home. We must intensify the information in order to reach the most remote and disadvantaged corners of our communities. Family participation For full sexuality education to be achieved, it is necessary that everyone in the family participates and plays a role. This should challenge the Guinean state, technical and financial partners and all stakeholders to act quickly by intervening in favour of CSE in order to reduce the risks for young people and adolescents. I want to see my peers live fulfilled and responsible lives, through the provision of comprehensive sexuality education in school or extra-curricular (for example through parent-child dialogue). I want to see young people living in rural areas enjoy the same benefits in terms of information and intervention on sexual and reproductive health. I want to see young leaders involved in making decisions about youth access to CSE, because doing something for young people without young people is against young people. I hope that the integration of comprehensive sexuality education in training curricula, and sharing awareness through social media will be a considerable asset for young people in school. For young people out of school I hope to see regularly organized communication activities through educational talks, door-to-door sensitization, and daily media spots in national languages, while involving religious and community leaders. Starting at an early age Thus, it is important to start CSE at an early age because it is the only way for the child to know and control their own body, and, as the UNESCO International Technical Guidance shows; to delay first sexual intercourse, to reduce risk-taking and increase use of condoms and contraception, to reduce the frequency of sexual intercourse and the number of sexual partners among young people. I think that parents have a really important role to play in youth access to CSE in and outside of school. In short, parents must absolutely respond to their children's questions in a natural way. Although they should receive sex education in school, home education should not be missed because it is also important. If neither school nor parents talk about sex education to young people and adolescents, the situation will be deplorable. They are an essential point of contact and if they are well informed, they will be able to facilitate this process. Antoine Fassou Loua - Young Peer Educator at Association Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre Familial, IPPF member association in Guinea.

UNESCO recently released revised technical guidelines for comprehensive sex education (CSE), The publication identifies an urgent need for quality comprehensive sexuality education to: provide information and guidance to young people about the transition from childhood to adulthood and the physical, social and emotional challenges they face. tackle the challenges posed by sexual and reproductive health issues, which are particularly difficult during puberty, including access to contraception, early pregnancy, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV and AIDS raise awareness of HIV prevention and transmission, of which only 34 per cent of young people around the world can demonstrate accurate knowledge complement or counter the large body of material of variable quality that young people find on the internet, and help them face increasingly common instances of cyberbullying. When UNFPA invited partners to a global conference on CSE in Norway, IPPF and its Norwegian member association Sex og Politikk decided to host a conference on CSE to feed into the Norwegian governments conference. On December 12-13 2017, almost 60 participants from 31 countries were gathered in Oslo, Norway to discuss CSE. In collaboration with IPPF secretariat, its central office and the six regional offices, Sex og Politikk prepared and hosted the conference. All the regions were represented by both member organisation representatives and regional office staff. After the welcoming speech by NORAD director of health and education Paul Fife on behalf of the Government of Norway a panel of CSE best practices around the world set the scene, where we could hear from representatives of IPPFs member associations (MAs) in India, Denmark, Palestine, Togo, Thailand and Colombia. Laura Hurley, technical adviser on youth at IPPF , gave an overview of the upcoming ‘CSE Institute’, which will be launched as a pilot in 2018. The Institute is working with the Swedish, Dutch and Danish MAs to develop technical assistance for other MAs wishing to build their CSE work, as part of the wider ‘Technical Assistance Network’ initiative. Two successful collaborations between IPPF MAs were also presented to inspire participants. RFSU Sweden’s collaboration with RHAC Cambodia on CSE, as well as Sex og Politikk Norway’s collaboration with CFPA Cyprus. A lot of time was set aside for group discussions at the conference, to ensure that everyone had the chance to share their experiences. One of the conclusions was that there is a lot to learn from each other and that there is vital work being done by IPPF and its member associations on CSE around the world. More specifically, the participants agreed on the importance of a multi-pronged approach to CSE, and including the whole community as much as possible both to deliver and to advocate for CSE. Another takeaway was to ensure a holistic approach to CSE on all levels. In many contexts, CSE can be controversial, and it is essential to know your context well in order to navigate the climate wisely. UNESCO, Jenelle Babb, presented the revised technical guidelines on CSE for us. Attendees were glad to learn that the guidelines shift from CSE as ‘prevention’ to a positive framework and that links to the Sustainable Development Goals are included. The conference concluded by agreeing a joint statement. The executive director of Sex og Politikk, Tor-Hugne Olsen, presented this statement to the UNFPA/Norway conference on December 14. By: Marianne Støle-Nilsen, Senior Advisor, Sex og Politikk The full report and summary can be found here.

The UK Government has decided that Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) will become compulsory in schools in England from 2020 and is consulting parents, experts and young people on what the new curriculum should look like. Current guidelines haven’t changed since 2000, and fail to address such issues as cyberbullying, ‘sexting’, internet porn as well as growing awareness of LGBTQ+ identities and the topic of consent.  Sexual health charities Brook and FPA have been working with young people to find out what good RSE means for them. The result is the ‘Young people’s manifesto: what we want and need from RSE’ – an 11 point plan which outlines what is considered by young people to be the baseline for quality RSE, such as being LGBTQ+ inclusive, age-appropriate, based on facts - not opinion - and taught by trained teachers. As part of the ongoing campaigning Brook and FPA have launched a petition to ask that the Secretary of State for Education listens to the voices of young people and includes their priorities in the new RSE curriculum. Hannah Panes, Participation and Volunteering Coordinator at Brook, said:  “We wanted young people to be at the centre of decisions that affect them. That’s why it was so important that the young people’s manifesto was co-produced by a group of young volunteers.” A group of young volunteers and Brook Champions - volunteers who influence and co-produce services – were asked for their opinions about RSE and their hopes for the future. Rachel, 21, a student, has seen the consequences of this at university: “I’ve been struck by the number of friends who knew nothing about contraception or consent. Some of my friends had been sexually assaulted at uni but didn’t report it as they didn’t think they would be believed. People just don’t understand the concept of consent. It’s not just about saying ‘no’, consent is an enthusiastic ‘yes’. It’s so important that it’s on the curriculum.” Many felt that schools taught sex education in a negative way, as a problem to be managed, rather than a natural part of life. They were disappointed with the way it was delivered, as an afterthought and often pressed on unwilling, embarrassed teachers. Alicia, 22, thinks social media could have a beneficial role to play in sex and relationships education: “Young people learn so much online now and RSE needs to stay on top of it. I think Youtubers and Instagram campaigns like the ones for positive periods such as Good Blood, Pink Protest can be more influential. “ There was concern, too, that schools don’t reflect the student populations they serve. Far too many LGBTQ+ youth are sitting in classrooms where their teachers fail to address their identities and experiences.  Student Gareth, 20, who grew up in Northern Ireland, and identifies as bisexual and polyamorous, describes the sex education they received as ‘horrendous’.   Young trans people in the group felt that their sex education, as it stands, ignores their needs. This is particularly concerning in the light of a study by campaigning charity Stonewall which found among trans pupils nearly one in 10 have received death threats at school, while 84% say they have self-harmed and 45% have tried to take their own lives. Jade, 16: “I feel that the RSE I had focused too much on scare stories, STIs, risks and a lack of trust. There was no discussion about the experiences of young trans people. There are only two clinics in the country which treat under 18 trans people, and first they have to find a sympathetic GP to be referred. Some friends are having to wait four years for treatment to begin.” While RSE will be compulsory, schools will have some flexibility in how they teach it, including being sensitive to religious beliefs. It is expected that parents will still have the right to withdraw their children from lessons. How does RSE in the UK compare with other countries? Young people referred to Holland -where sex education and information about sexual diversity are compulsory in all secondary and primary schools – as a leader in the field. Holland has one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in the world. Studies have shown that well-designed and well-taught sex education can support positive sexual health outcomes, such as reducing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates. There's a lot at stake, but after years of campaigning young people are helping to shape Relationships and Sex Education.   Recently updated International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education launched by UNESCO and supported by IPPF and a number of other UN agencies, shows strong evidence for the international importance of Relationship and Sex Education.    

Current UK guidelines on relationships and sex education (RSE) haven’t changed since 2000; a review is long overdue. In 2020 relationships and sex education will become compulsory in schools in England.    Studies have shown that well-designed and well-taught sex education can support positive sexual health outcomes, such as reducing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates. Brook and FPA volunteers want more than that – they want to see issues like consent, support, and mutual respect included and discussed in an open, frank and positive way. Photography © IPPF/Laura Lewis

It used to take Matilda Meke-Banda six hours on her motorbike along dirt roads to reach two remote districts and deliver sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. In this part of southern Malawi, Machinga, family planning uptake is low, and the fertility rate, at 6.6, is the highest in the country. The Family Planning Association of Malawi, known as FPAM, runs a clinic in the town of Liwonde and it’s from here that Matilda travelled out six times a month. “We have established six watch groups, they are trained to address SRH issues in the community,” she explains. Luc Simon is the chair of one of those groups.  “We teach about Family Planning,” he says. “We encourage parents and young people to go for HIV testing. We address forced early marriages, talk to parents and children to save a lot of young people.” And there are a lot of myths to dispel about family planning. Elizabeth Katunga is head of family planning in the district hospital in Machinga: “Family Planning is not very much accepted by the communities. Many women hide the use of contraceptives,” she says. “Injectables are most popular, easy to hide. We have cases here where husbands upon discovery of an implant take a knife and cut it out. It is not that people want big families per se but it is the misconceptions about contraceptives.” FPAM’s projects are based at the Youth Life clinic in Liwonde. The clinic offers integrated services: Family planning, HIV services, STI screening, cervical cancer screening and general healthcare (such as malaria). This joined-up approach has been effective says FPAM’s executive director Thoko Mbendera: “In government health facilities, you have different days, and long queues always, for family planning, for HIV, for general health, which is a challenge if the clinic is a 20 km walk away.There are privacy issues.” But now, FPAM’s services are being cut because of the Global Gag Rule (GGR), mobile clinics are grounded, and there are fears that much progress will be undone. Some of FPAM’s rural clients explain how the Watch Groups work in their community. “It starts with me as a man,” says group member George Mpemba. “We are examples on how to live with our wives. We are non-judgemental; we embark on a mutual learning process. Our meetings are not hearings, but a normal chat, there is laughing and talking. After the discussion we evaluate together and make an action plan.” Katherine, went to the group for help: “There was violence in my marriage; my husband forced himself on me even if I was tired from working in the field. When I complained there was trouble. He did not provide even the bedding. “He is a fisherman and he makes a lot of cash which he used to buy beer but nothing for us.I overheard a watch group meeting once and I realised there was a solution. They talked to him and made him realise that what he was doing was violence and against the law. It was ignorance.Things are better now, he brings money home, sex is consensual and sometimes he helps with household chores.”

On Friday afternoon in Municipal Lycee of Nyakabiga, Burundi,  headmistress Chantal Keza is introducing her students to the medical staff from Association Burundaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ABUBEF). Peer educators at the school, trained by ABUBEF,  will perform a short drama based around sexual health and will answer questions about contraception methods from students. One of the actresses is peer educator Ammande Berlyne Dushime. Ammande, who is 17 years old is one of three peer educators at the school. Ammande, together with her friends, perform their short drama on the stage based on a young girls quest for information on contraception. It ends on a positive note, with the girl receiving useful and correct information from a peer educator at her school. A story that could be a very real life scenario at her school. Peer programmes that trained Ammande, are under threat of closure due to the Global Gag rule.   Ammande says, “I am afraid what will happen when there will be no more projects like this one. I am ready to go on with work as peer educator, but if there are not going to be regular visits by the medical stuff from the clinic, then we will have no one to seek information and advice from. I am just a teenager, I know so little. Not only I will lose my support, but also I will not be taken serious by my schoolmates. With such important topic like sexual education and contraception, I am not the authority. I can only show the right way to go. And this road leads to ABUBEF.” She says “As peer educator I am responsible for Saturday morning meetings at the clinic. We sing songs, play games, have fun and learn new things about sex education, contraception, HIV protection and others. Visiting the clinic is then very easy, and no student has to be afraid, that showing up at the clinic that treats HIV positive people, will ruin their reputation. Now they know that we can meet there openly, and undercover of these meetings seek for help, information, professional advice and contraception methods” Peer educator classes are a safe and open place for students to openly talk about their sexual health. The Global Gage Rule will force peer educator programmes like this to close due to lack of funding.   Help us bridge the funding gap   Learn more about the Global Gag Rule

IPPF welcomes the new International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, which was published last week by UNESCO in collaboration with UNAIDS, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, and the World Health Organization (WHO). This Guidance calls for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for young people to promote health and wellbeing, respect for human rights and gender equality, and empowers children and young people to lead healthy, safe and productive lives.  The Technical Guidance is designed to assist education policy makers in all countries to design accurate and age-appropriate curricula for children and young people aged five and up. Based on a review of the current evidence and best practice from around the world, the Guidance notably demonstrates that high-quality, comprehensive sexuality education: can contribute to delayed sexual debut, increased use of condoms and other contraception methods, and may help promote more positive and healthy attitudes and behaviours regarding sexual and reproductive health is essential to combat the school dropout of girls due to early or forced marriage, teenage pregnancy and sexual and reproductive health issues is necessary because in some parts of the world, two out of three girls reported having no idea of what was happening to them when they began menstruating and pregnancy and childbirth complications are the second cause of death among 15 to 19-year olds The publication identifies an urgent need for quality comprehensive sexuality education to: provide information and guidance to young people about the transition from childhood to adulthood and the physical, social and emotional challenges they face. tackle the challenges posed by sexual and reproductive health issues, which are particularly difficult during puberty, including access to contraception, early pregnancy, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV and AIDS raise awareness of HIV prevention and transmission, of which only 34 per cent of young people around the world can demonstrate accurate knowledge complement or counter the large body of material of variable quality that young people find on the internet, and help them face increasingly common instances of cyberbullying. IPPF is committed to increasing access to rights-based, inclusive CSE, and in 2016 we provided over 28 million young people with a quality-assured CSE programme. Our Framework for Comprehensive Sexuality Education supports the provision of CSE that equips young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to determine and enjoy their sexuality – physically and emotionally, individually and in relationships. IPPF has reaffirmed this commitment by including CSE as a key objective of our Strategic Framework and pledging to enable one billion people to act freely on their sexual and reproductive health and rights by 2022. We congratulate all stakeholders who rallied together to produce this Guidance in support of young people’s right to education and information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights.