EXAMPLES OF GENDER-SENSITIVE APPROACHES TO GENDER BARRIERS IN AYA |
Component |
Gender-Related
Barrier |
Gender-Sensitive
Approaches |
| Policy & Advocacy |
Girls
from impoverished families are taken out of school in
order to provide help at home, limiting their access
to education and SRH information. |
Advocate
for provision of food in school to provide incentives
to families to keep girls in school
Raise awareness among policy-makers of the links between girls' access
to education and negative SRH and development outcomes.
|
| Behavior
Change Communication |
Girls
do not encourage their partners to use condoms. |
Research: Identify
causes of girls' reluctance to discuss condom use through
participatory exercises and needs assessments.
Skill building: Strengthen girls' confidence
and role in SRH decision making through exercises
in communication, negotiation, and problem
analysis.
Communication: Encourage girls' active role
in condom negotiation through mass media messages
showing girls initiating discussions about condom
use with their partners.
|
| Youth-Friendly
Services |
Boys
do not use reproductive health services. |
Facility
Practices: Provide guidelines to facilities on how
to make services male friendly (eg, signs aimed at male
audiences, male providers experienced with serving boys,
and/or special hours for boys).
Provider Practices: Design outreach
activities to reach young men in community
locations where they are comfortable in accessing
counseling and condoms.
Client Satisfaction: Ensure that services and
outreach activities elicit the perspectives and respect
the privacy and confidentiality of boys.
|
| Livelihood
Skills |
Girls
who are employed cannot use SRH services because they
work during health clinic hours. |
Provide
SRH information and services in training programs and
workplaces.
Advocate for clinic hours convenient for working girls.
|
| Institutional
Capacity Building |
Local
partners lack expertise in gender-sensitive programming. |
Train
local partners in the use of gender analysis and tools
to identify gender barriers and appropriate program response
in their cultural context.
|
| Coordination & Dissemination |
Information
about boys' participation in SRH programs is limited. |
Disseminate
lessons learned and best practices about what approaches
best involve boys in AYA program efforts and how their
participation affects program impact.
|
