State of comprehensive sexual education for young people with disabilities in the Eastern and Southern Africa: Needs assessment

Like  all  young  people,  those  living  with  disabilities  have  dreams  and ambitions, interests and desires, and hopes for their futures. However, discrimination, stigma, and prejudice, together with the failure  to  incorporate  disability  into  programming,  often  means  that  they  are  left  behind  in  the  provision  of  comprehensive  sexuality education (CSE). As a result, they do not receive adequate information  about  puberty,  sexuality,  and  healthy  relationships,  making  them  vulnerable  to  sexual  exploitation  and  denying  them  the  right  to  enjoy  good  quality  education  and  transition  safely  to  adulthood.

The  United  Nations  Educational,  Scientific  and   Cultural   Organization   (UNESCO)   2020   Global   Education   Monitoring  Report,  with  its  theme  ‘All  Means  All’,  stresses  the  Sustainable  Development  Goal  (SDG)  4  commitment  to  a  just,  equitable,  tolerant,  open,  and  socially  inclusive  world  in  which  the needs of the most disadvantaged are met. As   such,   the   overall   aim   of   this   needs   assessment   was   to   understand  the  status  of  delivery  of  CSE  to  children  and  young  people with disabilities (CYPWD) in the formal education sector in five focus countries, namely Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania (including Zanzibar),  Zambia,  and  Zimbabwe.  This report synthesizes the learning from across these five national reports.

Read the full report here.