Objective: To examine the social and ethical challenges in enforcing sexual and reproductive rights of male and female adolescents abused at sexual debut in Ghana.
Methodology: This was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data on 278 sexually experienced male and female teenagers from 12 communities selected by cluster random sampling in the Ejisu-Juben district. We extracted relevant data from a 2009 academic thesis project involving 481 respondents. We assessed differences between sexual debut experiences of males and females using Pearson's chi-square and ANOVA tests. P-values ≤0.05 were considered significant.
Results: Mean ages at sexual debut for males and females were 16.05 ± 1.8 and 15.98 ± 1.47 years respectively (P=0.719). Adolescents of both sexes experienced defilement and forced sexual debut; similar proportions had early sexual debut. Females who had early sexual debut were more likely than their older counterparts to have low educational attainment and induced abortion.
Conclusions: Many male and female adolescents experience sexual and reproductive rights breaches at sexual debut. Prevailing circumstances hinder optimization of sexual and reproductive rights of juveniles in Ghana. We recommend making clear provisions for young persons in the law on sexual offences in the criminal code to facilitate development of interventions to improve access to justice for offenders and victims.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.13015 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
HIV Vulnerability Typologies Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Lesotho: A Population-Based, Cross-Sectional, Latent Class Analysis.
J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care
January 2025
Cho-Hee Shrader, PhD, MPH, is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar and MS Nursing Student, Arizona State University, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Adolescent girls and young women ages 15-29 years (AGYW) living in Lesotho experience a disproportionate HIV burden. Using a household-based national survey in Lesotho, we conducted a three-step latent class analysis to identify typologies of AGYW most vulnerable to HIV infection. We first classified AGYW into HIV vulnerability groups based on self-reported sexual behaviors, then identified associations between typology and HIV diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevalence and factors associated with teenage pregnancy in refugee settlements of northern Uganda post-COVID-19 (2020-2023): a cross-sectional study.
BMJ Open
December 2024
Reproductive Health, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda.
Background: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in teenage pregnancies nationally, however, limited data exists regarding the same among girls living in refugee settlements.
Objectives: We evaluated the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and associated factors in Palorinya and Bidi Bidi refugee settlements in Obongi and Yumbe districts of northern Uganda, in the post-COVID-19 era.
Design: We conducted a cross-sectional study.
Comparison of Chlamydia trachomatis Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Infection Among Women by Gender/Sex of Sex Partner, United States, 2013-2016.
Sex Transm Dis
December 2024
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, and the Center for AIDS and STD, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Objectives: Women who report sex with women are thought to have lower risk for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection than women who report sex with men only (WSM-only), but comparisons of lifetime burden are limited.
Methods: Among 1,418 sexually-experienced women aged 18-39 years participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2016), we estimated weighted CT seroprevalence and Wald-based 95% confidence intervals (CI) in women who reported ever having sex with a woman (all reported having sex with men also) (WSWM) compared to WSM-only. We defined seropositivity as detection of Pgp3 antibodies and used stratified Poisson regression with robust standard errors to estimate prevalence ratios.
Understanding human papillomavirus vaccine response and efficacy in people living with HIV: A systematic mixed studies review and meta-analysis.
PLOS Glob Public Health
December 2024
Department of International Health, Center for Immunization Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Coinfection with human papillomavirus (HPV) and HIV compounds the risks of developing cervical, anal, and HPV-associated oral neoplasia. Safe prophylactic vaccines are available to prevent HPV infections in people with HIV(PWH). Yet, vaccine efficacy and duration of protection remain questionable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRepeat adolescent pregnancies in Southwestern Uganda: A cross-sectional study.
Womens Health (Lond)
December 2024
Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Background: Pregnancy in adolescents continues to remain a significant public health challenge, with repeat pregnancies in this age group often receiving insufficient attention. In Uganda, repeat adolescent pregnancy varies between 26.1% and 55.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!