Adolescent pregnancy and social norms in Zambia

Early pregnancy occurs frequently in Zambia and is considered a public health issue. The aim of this study was to improve understanding of how gendered sexual norms make young unmarried girls vulnerable to unintended pregnancies in a specific context. It combined individual interviews and focus group discussions with girls and boys aged 13–18 years and the parents of other young people of this same age, with peer interviews with girls aged 13–20 years at four sites in the southern province of Zambia. For girls, sexual relationships and early pregnancies were at odds with dominant norms and were consistently met with disapproval because they led to economic difficulties for young women and their parents, school dropouts and health problems for the young woman and her baby. Lack of resources and insufficient knowledge about sexuality and reproduction, together with gender norms governing sexual behaviour and contraceptive use, combine to place adolescent girls in a vulnerable position with respect to unintended pregnancy.publishedVersio

The Politics of EU Asylum Policy. A comparative study of decision-making before and after the 'refugee crisis'

This thesis is concerned with explaining the development of EU asylum policy. The research question – How did the refugee crisis affect EU decision-making in asylum policy? – Is answered by deploying a new theoretical framework. Through a comparative case study using qualitative methods such as elite interviews and document analysis, the thesis demonstrates that when the centrality of asylum policy (its salience) increases, we observe restrictions on the political maneuvering of EU institutions, thereby making it harder to find sustainable common solutions. There is a gap in the literature when it comes to understanding decision-making in the area of asylum policy. By combining elements drawn from a variety of studies of national- and European decision-making, I have developed a new theoretical argument which I call the Salience Model. The model is tested through a comparative case study of the decision-making on asylum policy before and after the refugee crisis. The empirical findings are twofold. First, the autonomy of the Commission to propose legislation depends on salience. When there is low salience, the Commission proposes legislation supporting the rights and safeguards of the asylum seekers, which is also favored by the European Parliament. When salience increases, the Commission is put under political pressure by the Council’s member states, resulting in a policy that is more focused on immigration concerns rather than the rights of asylum seekers. Secondly, the analysis shows that the member states’ positions in negotiations vary according to salience. The positions of member states in the Council before the ‘refugee crisis’ were in accordance with the preferences of the North-Western member states. By contrast, following the ‘refugee crisis’, all member states have an enhanced interest in pursuing their national political preferences, thereby making it much harder to reach an agreement. In sum, high salience, resulting from the refugee crisis, makes it harder to reach an agreement regarding asylum policy precisely when the importance of reaching such a common solution is greatest.MasteroppgaveSAMPOL350MASV-SAP

Research priorities on ending child marriage and supporting married girls.

Over the past few years the issue of child marriage has received growing political and programmatic attention. In spite of some progress in a number of countries, global rates have not declined over the past decade. Knowledge gaps remain in understanding trends, drivers and approaches to ending child marriage, especially to understand what is needed to achieve results on a large scale. This commentary summarizes the outcomes of an Expert Group Meeting organized by World Health Organization to discuss research priorities on Ending Child Marriage and Supporting Married Girls. It presents research gaps and recommends priorities for research in five key areas; (i) prevalence and trends of child marriage; (ii) causes of child marriage (iii) consequences of child marriage; (iv) efforts to prevent child marriage; (v) efforts to support married girls

Physical education and gender

Bacheloroppgave faglærerutdanning i kroppsøving og idrettsfag, 2016Forfatter: Martin Svanemyr Tittel: Kroppsøving og kjønn Problemstilling: Hvorfor bruke kjønnsdelt undervisning som organiseringsform i kroppsøvingsfaget? Oppgaven belyser kjønn i kroppsøvingsfaget. Her vil jeg gå i dybden på kjønnsdeling som organiseringsform. Metode: Jeg har skrevet min oppgave som en litteraturstudie, hvor jeg kritisk benytter meg av tidligere forskning som er gjort på området. Jeg har deretter valgt ut fem artikler som besvarer problemstillingen. Resultat: Resultatet som kommer frem i denne studien viser at gutters fysiske dominans og utagering går på bekostning av jenters trivsel og utviklingspotensiale i faget. Kroppsøvingsfaget skjer på guttenes premisser, der aktivitet og oppmerksomhet er mest rettet mot guttene. Som et resultat av dette ser man at jentene, spesielt de faglig svake, ønsker kjønnsdeling som organiseringsform. Det konkluderes ikke med hvilken organiseringsform som er mest lærerik for elevene, men man ser et behov for drøfting av kjønnstematikken. Nøkkelord: Kjønnsdeling, kjønn, læringsmiljø, selvoppfatning, kjønn i kroppsøvingsfaget, kjønnsforskjeller, kjønnsidentitet

Experiences of teachers and community health workers implementing sexuality and life skills education in youth clubs in Zambia

Zambia, like other low- and middle-income countries, faces numerous adolescent sexual and reproductive health challenges such as teenage pregnancies. This study aimed at understanding teachers' and community health workers' (CHWs) implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) as part of a comprehensive support package for adolescent girls to prevent early childbearing. Data collected using in-depth interviews [n = 28] with teachers [n = 15] and community health workers [n = 13] were analysed using thematic analysis. The teachers and CHWs reported that the use of participatory approaches and collaboration between them in implementing CSE enabled them to increase girls' and boys' participation youth clubs. However, some teachers and CHWs experienced practical challenges with the manuals because some concepts were difficult to understand and translate into local language. The participants perceived that the youth club increased knowledge on CSE, assertiveness and self-esteem among the learners. Training and providing a detailed teaching manual with participatory approaches for delivering CSE, and collaborative teaching enabled teachers and CHWs to easily communicate sensitive SRH topics to the learners. However, for the adoption of CSE to be even more successful, piloting of the curriculum with local facilitators and translating the manuals into the local languages before they are implemented, is recommended.acceptedVersio

Ensuring Youth's Right to Participation and Promotion of Youth Leadership in the Development of Sexual and Reproductive Health Policies and Programs

AbstractThe purpose of this article was to reflect on the concepts of adolescence and youth, summarize models and frameworks developed to conceptualize youth participation, and assess research that has attempted to evaluate the implementation and impact of youth participation in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We searched and critically reviewed relevant published reports and "gray literature" from the period 2000–2013. "Young people" are commonly defined as those between the ages of 10 and 24 years, but what it means to be a young person varies largely across cultures and depends on a range of socioeconomic factors. Several conceptual frameworks have been developed to better understand youth participation, and some frameworks are designed to monitor youth development programs that have youth participation as a key component. Although none of them are SRHR specific, they have the potential to be adapted and applied also for adolescents' SRHR programs. The most monitored and evaluated intervention type is peer education programs, but the effectiveness of the approach is questioned. There are few attempts to systematically evaluate youth participation, and clear indicators and better methodologies still need to be developed. More research and documentation as well as the adoption of innovative practices for involving youth in sexual and reproductive health programs are needed. Participation is a right and should not only be evaluated in terms of effectiveness and impact. Youth participation in program and policy development should still be a priority

Norms and sexual relations among adolescents in the context of an intervention trial in rural Zambia

High levels of adolescent pregnancy and child marriage rates in low- and middle-income countries is an issue of concern to many stakeholders, including in Zambia where almost one-third of women give birth before age 18. The aim of this paper is to explore and analyse social norms concerning adolescents’ sexual behaviour within the context of an intervention trial in rural communities in southern Zambia. It is based on a qualitative study applying individual interviews, focus group discussions and participatory research methods. We apply the distinction between injunctive and descriptive norms to demonstrate that adolescent girls are caught between conflicting norms. Injunctive norms express that premarital sex, contraceptive use, and discussions about sex between adults and youths are socially condemned. At the same time poor girls are reported to feel pressure towards having sexual relations for the economic benefits such relations can bring, and this practice is considered so common that it amounts to a descriptive norm. Norms and structural conditions combine to create a disabling and disempowering environment for adolescent sexual and reproductive health, which limits girls’ agency and exposes them to unwanted pregnancies.acceptedVersio

Child marriage legislation in the Asia-Pacific region

Child marriage is a human rights violation that robs a girl of her childhood, puts her health, growth, and development at risk, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities for empowerment and social development, and increases her risk of exposure to violence and abuse (for a review of the evidence on the negative effects of child marriage on girls and their children, see Parsons et al. 2015, in this issue). While child marriage is not mentioned specifically in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention does contain a provision requiring governments to abolish “traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children” and calling on them to protect children from “all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse”(art. 4). In addition, child marriage relates to other children’s rights, such as the right to express their views freely, the right to protection from all forms of abuse, and the right to be

Twenty years after international conference on population and development: where are we with adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights?

The International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 laid out a bold, clear, and comprehensive definition of reproductive health and called for nations to meet the educational and service needs of adolescents to enable them to deal in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality. In the context of the ongoing review of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action and the considerations for a post-2015 development agenda, this article summarizes the findings of the articles presented in this volume and identifies key challenges and critical answers that need to be tackled in addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights. The key recommendations are to link the provision of sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services; build awareness, acceptance, and support for youth-friendly SRH education and services; address gender inequality in terms of beliefs, attitudes, and norms; and target the early adolescent period (10–14 years). The many knowledge gaps, however, point to the pressing need for further research on how to best design effective adolescent SRH intervention packages and how best to deliver them