Reproductive health and HIV prevention programmes for youth rarely look at the reallity of coercive sex that so many youth face. Coercive sex is a violation of a person's rights and can have severe mental, physical and reproductive health consequences, including pregnancy and HIV and other STIs. This paper highlights a number of key issues: the range of sexual coercion faced by youth; the impact of gender norms on coercion; the consequences of coercion; and programme approaches to reduce the problem
This paper explores different populations of out-of-school youth ; examines the link between schooling and safer sexual behaviors, and presents programs that work with young people who do not or cannot attend formal schools. Four case studies detailing programs working with mainstream and marginalized youth are also included
This paper examines how youth can participate more broadly in projects, for example in policy, management and evaluation issues. Anecdotal evidence on the value of including youth perspectives in these more challenging areas is beginning to emerge, for example the Barcelona YouthForce at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona in July 2002. The paper concludes with a list of elements that help to make effective youth-adult partnerships. These elements cover organisational capacity; attitude shift; selection, recruitment and retention of youth; and level of participation
This paper examines the factors that affect the use of condoms among sexually active youth. These factors include risk perception; social support, accessibility and acceptability; and gender. The paper concludes with five questions and a number of recommendations for programmes on youth and condoms
This is a summary of the FOCUS on young adults end of program report. The paper highlights results from 39 evaluations of program interventions for youth in developing countries, which the FOCUS on young adults program identifies as having sound methodology and important results. These programs have helped young people in developing countries practice healthlier behaviours, including delaying sexual debut, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing the use of methods for preventing pregnancy and the STIs. The summary is aimed at program planners, administrators, policy makers and donors interested in developing evidence-based strategies and programs to promote better health for youth
