‘Girls, young women more vulnerable to sexual violence’ 

Source: ‘Girls, young women more vulnerable to sexual violence’ -Newsday Zimbabwea

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has said adolescent girls and young women face a higher risk of contracting HIV and Aids, exposure to early pregnancy and sexual violence in Zimbabwe.

In a recent report, Unicef said in 2021, one out of four (24%) young women aged 20-24 had given birth before the age of 18, while nearly one in 10 girls experienced sexual violence during childhood, which is nine times the rate experienced by boys.

This follows another report by the National Aids Council, which said of the 1,2 million people living with HIV in the country, 60% were women.

“New HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women represented one-fourth of all new HIV infections during 2021 with one out of four (24%) young women aged 20-24 having given birth before the age of 18, and nearly one in 10 girls experienced sexual violence during childhood, nine times the rate experienced by boys,” the Unicef report partly read.

“Unicef has supported development of an evidence-based HIV communication package designed to provide adolescent girls and young women with the information and skills they need to make informed decisions, practise safe behaviour, and access HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.

“The needs assessment found that adolescent girls and young women had limited understanding of HIV risks and underlying vulnerabilities, including harmful gender norms that limit their ability to protect themselves or seek services.”

Unicef said during a needs assessment survey, it found that adolescents had a low self-risk perception of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, including how these relate to behaviours such as transactional sex.

“Knowledge of HIV prevention was found to be lowest among younger girls and those with disabilities. Access to SRH services was correlated with age, with young women (20-24 years) more likely to have accessed HIV and SRH services than adolescent girls (10-19 years),” the UN agency noted.

The organisation also suggested that there was need for adolescents to have accurate knowledge of HIV and SRH issues, understanding of risk behaviour, and to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills, and building of self-efficacy to change harmful gender and social norms.

It said the HIV Activity Pack, which it produced, would be rolled out by government through a variety of existing platforms.

“The HIV Activity Pack will be one component of the efforts required to fully meet the diverse needs of vulnerable adolescents and young people,” Unicef added.