Parental consent blocking teen girls from health services – report

A new report has warned that parental consent requirements are shutting out adolescent girls from accessing vital reproductive health services, exposing them to teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

The report by the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and Aids (Kelin) highlights the growing sexual activity among youth and faults the country’s reproductive health policy for placing barriers that deny young people the care and information they need.

In one case cited by the report, a 17-year-old girl named AO walked into a health centre in Kisii county to seek contraceptives.

She was turned away because she lacked parental approval.

“I couldn’t tell my mother. She would think I’m immoral,” said AO, whose mother is a devoted Seventh-Day Adventist. A few months later, AO became a young mother.

Her story reflects the impact of restrictive policies on teenagers across the country.

The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) shows that 15 per cent of girls aged 15–19 have been pregnant. The rate increases sharply with age, rising from 3 per cent at age 15 to 31 per cent by age 19.

Kelin takes issue with Section 3.4 of the National Reproductive Health Policy 2022–2032, saying it excludes adolescents below 21 years from receiving crucial reproductive health services without parental consent.

The report describes the requirement as a major barrier that prevents young people from achieving the highest possible standard of health.

“This is despite evidence that points to an increasingly sexually active young population,” the report notes.

According to KDHS 2022, 8 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men aged 15–24 had their first sexual encounter before turning 15.

These numbers are consistent with findings from the 2014 survey, which also showed high rates of early sexual debut among boys.

The report further reveals that persons with disabilities are among the most excluded when it comes to reproductive health services.

Although they account for 2.2 per cent of Kenya’s population, roughly 900,000 people, 80 per cent of them do not have access to quality medical services.

Women make up 57 per cent of this group, amounting to more than half a million people.

On HIV prevention, the report paints a troubling picture of widespread knowledge gaps. Among youth aged 15–34, 41 per cent of women and 39 per cent of men reportedly lacked information on how to prevent HIV.

“In 2021, an estimated 66.7 per cent (23,051) of all new HIV infections occurred among women and girls,” the report says.

It also adds that girls and young women aged 15–24 bear the greatest burden, with eight out of every ten new infections in that year occurring in this group.

Kelin’s report also shines a light on the struggles faced by key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people in prisons, and those who inject drugs.

These groups, the report says, continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV and face greater levels of violence, stigma, criminalisation, and exclusion from quality services.