BUBANZA May 6th (ABP) – Communication between parents and young adolescents on sexual and reproductive health is more than necessary for the better future of the latter, especially the active population that the country needs for its development. This was said on Wednesday May 4, 2022 during the round table on “Parent-adolescent communication, on sexual and reproductive health”, which was organized by the Association for the Promotion of Burundian Girls” (APFB).
Mrs. Diane KANEZA, APFB consultant, in her presentation, showed that young adolescents, aged 15 to 19, represent 23% of the Burundian population, i.e., around 2,600,000, and 8% of girls have already at least one child in the world. She indicates that these young teenagers do not have the necessary knowledge to make responsible choices in sexual matters, and that they content themselves with information drawn from social media, from their companions, from various television channels and others.
And this has harmful effects for young people, especially young girls, such as unwanted pregnancies, which often lead them to drop out of school, family rejection, social contempt and others, she said. For example, during the school year, 2018-2019 edition, throughout the country and in schools, unwanted pregnancies amounted to 828 cases at the post basic education level and 440 cases at the basic schools.
Some of the young participants in that round table affirmed that there is no dialogue between them and their parents on sexual and reproductive health, because, they explain, this subject remains, until today, taboo. One parent said he finds it difficult to talk to his daughters about sex. This is like that while the restricted family should be the first place for the socialization of children, and a framework for the transmission of certain values and norms by the parents.
The representatives of the APFB in the round table and the participants pleaded for the promotion of communication between parents and adolescents on the change in their bodies and its harmful effects in the event of slippage. Note that the guests to that round table were young students, parents, and representatives of the administration.