The realities of accessing SRH information for children and young people in the face of digitalization
By Tinotenda Pardon Matenda
I sat in the comfort of one stool in the Kivu tent at the education zone , as I listened to Angeline Murimirwa the CEO of CAMFED and Julius Lukwago the Director of SRHR Girl Capital. The two were the panel of a session that looked at the imperative and sensitivities of SRH education in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Quite an interesting and informative session that was equally informed by the audience as well.
At some point during the session I raised my hand to make a point, I started by giving an analogy that together with my programs manager, N Mantosi we call #muvharopabucket (#Lidonthebucket), the young children are like an empty bucket if you open it and leave it on open space everything can just get inside from dust, trash animal and anything that passes by- it will all fit comfortably in the bucket because its empty, open and in open space. In contrast if you fill the bucket with sand or water and close it, even if you leave it on open space nothing gets in there because it’s filled and closed. That is the choice practitioners and parents have to either guide the information that their children get and fill the bucket or to let the world put anything and everything in the minds of children.
My submissions and the discussion itself got me thinking on the realities of access to SRH information in the face of digitalization. Let’s start by learning from Covid-19. We were forced to digitalize our information dissemination programs – quickly we adapted to using Whatsapp, twitter, tik tok to share information with our beneficiaries. A great initiative if you think of it. But how many girls in the rural arrears have access to digital devices and internet in the very remote and rural arrears? We are a year post Covid 19 and we continue with the digitalization process developing SRH applications supported by Artificial intelligence that enables young people to access information from their homes. It becomes quite factual and clear that there is a digital divide between the urban and rural population that limits access to information. Even within the urban setup with the high cost of data, specifically in Zimbabwe you will find some children failing to access information online
The digitalization sword is two sided and very sharp. Traditional families in Africa used to have uncles and aunties as custodians of SRH information and knowledge which they shared with young boys and girls in a comprehensive manner – we cannot ultimately rule out the fact that some of the information included harmful cultural practices. Yet the fact remains that there was effective communication on issues of SRH. Thanks to urbanization and developemnt such African family set ups are rare to find, and ironically SRH and sexuality conversations cannot be done freely between children and their parents.
The failure of tradition and customs does not stop children from accessing such information, the question goes back to the #muvharopabucket analogy, where are children getting information? And how accurate? Appropriate and relevant is that information? Sad but funny a group of young girls in one of the communities ROOTS works in, collectively empowered each other with information, that after having unprotected sexual intercourse you should jump up and down 10 times and you will never get pregnant. If you visualize the scenario, certainty and confidence with which such dangerous mythical information is passed amongst the young girls you realize the need to promote access to such information – a responsibility bon by ROOTS in its girls clubs programs that provide a safe space for AGYW to learn about their sexuality without fear of being judged by the community, these programs are also supported by Gender Links through the Voice and Choice Fund in Shamva District.
The reality in the face of digitalization is proudly sponsored by GOOGLE SEARCH. When the family and community does not provide accurate information to children and young people pretending that they do not engage in sexual activities, the children and young people are left with no option but to rely on internet information , which the parents cannot control. The role of parent to child communication in the process remains undervalued yet fundamental. When children access pornographic material parents cannot monitor the information, especially parents who were born before technology (BBT). Both parents and children are falling victims to technology, after watching children would want to try and live the experience: a key contributor to child marriages and teen pregnancies. Parents are victims because they do not openly communicate with their children about sexuality and SRH- pretending that children are too innocent to engage in sexual activities and yet they still lack the skills and knowledge to regulate what their children can access on internet.Attending the women deliver conference helped me to view the issue of access to SRH information for children and young people in the face of digitalization with different lenses. Those children without access to digital devices and internet are not able to access online services and those who have access to devices and internet are falling victims to pornographic material, content and nudity on internet. If not promoting parent to child communication, you tell me what else should we do?
Tinotenda Pardon Matenda is the programme at REAL OPEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSFORMATION SUPPORT (ROOTS). This article is part of a series being produced during Women’s Month based on participation by VCSAFund grantees in the Women Deliver Conference held in Kigali in July.