Questions-Answers

Comprehensive sexuality education is a rights-based, gender equality-focused approach that promotes responsible, safe and fulfilling behaviors for young people in and out of school.

Its aim is to ensure that young people receive comprehensive sex education, based on life skills, in order to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills.

It aims to equip children and young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values ​​to make conscious, healthy and respectful choices regarding interpersonal relationships and sexuality.

The objectives are to enable young people to: enjoy their right to health, well-being and dignity; to develop respectful social and sexual relationships; to make their choices aware and to enlighten them on the way in which they affect their own well-being and that of others; to understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout their lives.

Comprehensive sexuality education plays a crucial role in addressing the health and well-being of children and youth.

It enables children and young people to be provided, gradually and according to their age, with education in human rights, gender equality, relationships, reproduction, risky sexual behavior and prevention. diseases; it provides all the information necessary and essential for their development at all stages of their physical and psychological development; it also provides an opportunity to present sexuality in a positive light by emphasizing values such as respect, inclusion, non-discrimination, equality, empathy, responsibility and reciprocity.

The MHH encompasses both:

-hygiene management associated with menstruation ie. women and adolescents use clean equipment to absorb or collect menstrual blood, which can be changed privately as often as needed during menstruation, use soap and water to bathe as needed, and have access to safe and convenient facilities for disposing of materials used for their periods. They also understand the basic facts about the menstrual cycle and can handle it with dignity and without embarrassment or fear.

-the wider systemic factors that link menstruation to health, well-being, gender equality, education, equity, empowerment and rights. These systemic factors have been summed up by UNESCO as accurate and timely knowledge, available materials, safe and affordable, informed and comfortable professionals, referral and access to health services, sanitation facilities and washing, positive social norms, safe and hygienic disposal, and advocacy and policy.
Envoyer des commentaires
Historique
Enregistré
Communauté

Good menstrual hygiene practices limit the development of infections of the urinary or reproductive tract. They also promote the well-being of girls by reducing stress, anxiety, embarrassment and social exclusion or isolation during periods.

Girls should have access to information on menstrual health, but also on how to manage hygiene and menstrual disorders:

• Girls and women must have access to hygienic protection
  It is recommended to wash with water and mild soap at least twice a day.
• Girls need to know the different sanitary protections, know how to use them and dispose of them appropriately; They can thus decide which product they wish to use depending on their context (cultural acceptability, availability, price, comfort, ease of use or access to water and sanitation facilities).
• Girls and women should be able to change their sanitary protection every 2 to 6 hours (or more frequently if necessary) to stay clean, to avoid infections, to avoid stains and to feel good.
• Reusable cloth protectors should be washed with soap and water after each use and dried completely. Moist tissue can carry germs and cause infections. If it is not possible to dry them in the sun (rainy season, lack of privacy), it may be more convenient to use an iron or hang them near a fire.
• Girls and women should have soap and water in an intimate place to wash when they have their period and to wash their hands when they change their sanitary protection.

Taboos around menstruation have always existed and continue to this day in many cultures, if not most. All over the world and throughout time, misconceptions about rules have led to the exclusion of women and girls from many roles or settings. Below is a non-exhaustive list:

Myth: Rules are dirty or dangerous

Menstrual blood is made up of blood and tissues, which are neither special nor dangerous. Yet throughout history, many communities have believed that the mere presence of menstruating women could be harmful to plants, food, or livestock.

Similar beliefs are still very common today. Some communities believe that women and girls can spread bad luck and dirt during their period (or with vaginal bleeding). This exposes them to restrictions on their daily behavior, including being prohibited from attending religious ceremonies, entering religious spaces, handling food or sleeping under their own roof.

Period stigma also affects how women and girls can manage their menstrual hygiene. Some cultures forbid them to touch or wash their genitals during their period, which could increase the risk of infection.

These beliefs also have consequences for how women and girls dispose of their sanitary protection. In some areas, they burn sanitary napkins to avoid putting a curse on animals or nature. In others, it is believed that burning sanitary pads makes you sterile. Some communities believe that if they do not dispose of these products properly, girls can have unbroken periods their entire lives.

Myth: Certain foods are prohibited for women and girls during their period

Many communities believe that women and girls cannot eat certain foods when they are menstruating, such as sour or cold foods, or foods that spoil easily. There are in fact no medical restrictions on the types of foods that everyone can or should eat, and dietary restrictions can even be dangerous because they limit nutritional intake.

Myth: Rules show girls are ready to be married or have sex

In many parts of the world, a girl’s first period (menarche) is seen as a sign that she is ready for marriage, sexual activity and motherhood. This leaves them vulnerable to a host of abuses, including child marriage, sexual assault or coerced sex, and teenage pregnancy. Although menstruation is one indicator of fertility, it does not mean that girls have reached mental, emotional, psychological or physical maturity. In rare cases, menarche can even occur around the age of 7 or 8. Even older teenage girls are not mature enough to make informed decisions about marriage, sexual activity or motherhood.

Myth: Periods reduce women’s abilities

The belief that periods reduce a woman’s physical or mental abilities is also widespread. Women are exposed to degrading comments about how their period supposedly affects their physical or emotional state. They are sometimes excluded from certain hierarchical roles or positions for this reason.

Myth: Real women get their period

Women can also be stigmatized for not having a period. Those who don’t are looked down upon because they “are not real women.” These perceptions help discourage women from using contraceptives that would affect their menstrual cycles. They can also have a very negative impact on women who do not have monthly periods, such as those who have irregular cycles or transgender women.

Taboo: Rules should not be talked about in public

Silence around the rules can lead to ignorance and neglect, including at the political level. This exposes women and girls to discrimination and menstrual insecurity, and has a terrible impact on those who are particularly vulnerable. Those with HIV may be discriminated against in their access to sanitation facilities, sanitary protection and health care. Those who live in prison or are detained in other forms often do not have access to sanitary protection.

Myth: menstruation is all about women

While it is true that menstruation occurs in the bodies of women and girls, as well as those of non-binary and transgender people, menstrual hygiene issues are human rights issues and are therefore fundamental to society. whole. This means that men and boys must be involved in conversations about gender equality and in the promotion of positive masculinities, with a view to eliminating the stigma and discrimination associated with rules.

Many universally recognized rights are put at risk by the way women and girls are treated during their period.

This is particularly the case:

From the right to human dignity – When women and girls do not have access to safe sanitation facilities and to safe and effective ways to manage their menstrual hygiene, they cannot live their periods with dignity. The mockery, exclusion and shame associated with rules also jeopardize this right to dignity.

• Right to a correct standard of health and well-being – Women and girls can suffer negative consequences on their health due to the lack of products and sanitary facilities to manage their menstrual health. Period stigma can also prevent them from seeking treatment for period pain and disorders, which affects their health and well-being.
• Right to education – The lack of a safe place or the ability to manage menstrual hygiene as well as the lack of medication to treat menstrual pain can contribute to greater absenteeism and therefore poor academic performance . Several studies have confirmed that if girls cannot manage their period properly at school, their performance in school suffers.
• Right to work – Limited access to safe ways to manage menstrual hygiene and to medicines for pain and menstrual disorders also limits the professional opportunities of women and girls. They may give up certain jobs or be forced to sacrifice hours of work and wages. Period-related needs, such as bathroom breaks, are sometimes penalized, resulting in unequal working conditions. Women and girls can also suffer discrimination at work because of taboos around menstruation.
• From the right to non-discrimination and gender equality – Stigma and norms associated with rules can reinforce discriminatory practices. Barriers related to the rules that apply at school, work, health services and public activities also perpetuate gender inequalities.