Abstract
IntroductionAs a response to challenges associated with adolescent reproductive and sexual health, policy makers in Rwanda have instituted preventive measures against risky sexual behaviours among adolescents. There is an ongoing debate on whether condoms should be made available in secondary schools to minimise risks related to unprotected sex in the context of a growing number of unintended pregnancies among school girls. This paper aims to examine the proposal of condom provision in Rwandan secondary schools through the analysis of policy narratives and the claims-making process.MethodsA narrative policy analysis was used to understand the claims and counter claims surrounding the debate on the provision of condoms in secondary schools. Documents that were consulted include: the national reproductive health policy, the girls' education policy, the national behaviour change and communication policy for the health sector, the Rwanda national policy on condoms, the adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights policy and the Rwanda family planning policy.ResultsSocial and cultural norms in the Rwandan context consider adolescent sexual practices as immoral and thus reject the idea of providing condoms in secondary schools. However, some stakeholders promoting reproductive health suggest that ignoring that some adolescents are sexually active will prevent them from accessing appropriate reproductive and sexual health protective programmes. Consequently, adolescents will be exposed to risky sexual behaviours, a situation which may be counter productive to the overarching goal of safeguarding adolescent sexual health which might impact their long-term education goals.ConclusionMaking condoms available in secondary schools evokes different meanings among the debaters, underscoring the complex nature of the condom provision debate in Rwanda. This paper calls for a revision of policies related to adolescent reproductive and sexual health in order to answer to the issues of risky sexual behaviours among secondary school students.
Highlights
As a response to challenges associated with adolescent reproductive and sexual health, policy makers in Rwanda have instituted preventive measures against risky sexual behaviours among adolescents
In order to explore the discourse surrounding the proposal of condom provision in high schools, this paper aimed to address the following questions: Who are the participants in the adolescent sexual and reproductive health discussions in Rwanda in the context of condom provision in high schools? What are the dominant policy claims of various individuals groups in the condom provision debate? How do these policy claims shape the dynamics of the condom provision debate? In particular, what are the stories, non-stories and meta-narratives that emerge from the debate? This paper argues that both proponents and opponents in the debate are struggling to make their world views and narratives the dominant issue in the debate
These policies were implemented by the Government of Rwanda (GoR) through different institutions as a result of the country being a member of other international treaties that aim to protect and promote safe reproductive health
Summary
As a response to challenges associated with adolescent reproductive and sexual health, policy makers in Rwanda have instituted preventive measures against risky sexual behaviours among adolescents. This paper calls for a revision of policies related to adolescent reproductive and sexual health in order to answer to the issues of risky sexual behaviours among secondary school students. Unsafe sexual activity-i.e, sexual activity that exposes either of the partners to negative outcomes such as diseases or unintended pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are major risks for high mortality and morbidity. The rates of such infections are especially high in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs), calling for combined effort to reduce them [2]. Teenage pregnancy has been cited as a major cause of school dropout among young girls [6]
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