Why parental assent doesn’t always work
Consent is defined widely as the agreement, approval, or permission as to some act or purpose, especially given voluntarily by a competent person with capacity to make that choice.
Children’s rights are constituted in national, regional and international laws. It has always been a societal aim to regulate inappropriate sexual contact with children by setting a barrier to sexual conduct with them.
Involving parents or guardians in adolescents’ health care decisions is desirable. However, in some cases, when girls fall pregnant or are forced to involve their parents when accessing crucial sexual health services, they will not avail themselves to avoid dealing with stigma, fear and shame.
Adolescent girls and young people are faced by numerous challenges, including sexual violence which takes many forms; rape, sexual assault, defilement, incest, and many others. Unlike boys, girls are more vulnerable to sexual and physical violence. Adolescents are vulnerable to manipulation and misinformation on sexual issues before making crucial decisions, including consenting to sex.
Relatives, neighbours, pastors and sometimes teachers are the perpetrators. Parents/guardian especially for orphaned children and those from poor backgrounds might choose to marry them off early without their consent. It leaves the adolescent girls to suffer because they lack bargaining power and further makes them prisoners in such marriages.
Lack of counselling
Adolescents are vulnerable to early and unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion practices, maternal morbidity and mortality, early child marriages, sexual violence, HIV/STI infection, school drop-out, adverse birth related disabilities and child deformities as a result of their gynecological immaturity and incomplete pelvic growth and other complications as well as mental health problems.
Throughout history, it has been the aim of society to regulate inappropriate sexual contact with and among children by setting barriers to sexual conduct with them. However, in some African communities, when a girl is defiled/raped by someone close to them, the families try to cover it up for the sexual offenders making it difficult for them to access reproductive healthcare.
Due to lack of counseling, these incidences may leave permanent emotional scars to victims of sexual offences which affect how they relate with different members of the community and react to various circumstances.
Additionally, adolescent girls are subjected to sexual activities due to poverty, peer pressure, child neglect, drug and substance abuse. Sexual offences remain a major challenge in Kenya and have adverse effects on adolescent girls.
A failure to protect adolescents in Kenya is also likely to jeopardise investments in maternal and child health and erode future quality and length of life, escalate sufferings, propel inequalities and lead to social instability.
Ms Kathia is a sexual and reproductive health advocate for Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa (Naya) Kenya and a communications specialist. ([email protected])
