Know Your Body, Know Your Rights!Advocating for CSE

WHRAP-SEA Partners Capacity Building Workshop on Advocacy, And Mid Term Progress Meeting

4-7 April 2011 ,Hanoi, Vietnam

What is The YP Foundation?

Founded in 2002, TYPF is a youth run and led organization that supports and enables young people to create

programmes and influence policies in the areas of gender, sexuality, health, education, the arts &

governance. 

We promote, protect and advance young people’s human rights by

building leadership, and strengthening youth led

initiatives and movements.

We have 6 programme divisions, that work with over 150 volunteers as peer

educators, each year. 20 staff members (17-26 years).

We have worked with 5,000 young people from 10 states in India in the last 8 years to implement over 200 projects, reaching out to 300,000

young people.  

Why Comprehensive Sexuality Education?

The cross cutting impact of a range of issues needs to be effectively

considered within young people’s right to information and services in public

health, if it is to affirm the rights of all young people and not isolate

communities of youth, based on behaviour identification patterns or at

risk labels.

Within education, issues of violence, abuse, harm reduction, poverty,

sexuality, climate, equity, culture and norms impact different young people

differently.

Empowerment Vs. Protection

While cultural, community and individual differences abound, there is a

commonality in the demands of young people. Young people have

clarity what is currently missing and what is urgently desired amongst

themselves. They can make information culturally sensitive and age appropriate.

Programme OverviewKnow Your Body! Know Your Rights!

Understanding Sexuality, Health, HIV & Rights

KYBKYR started in 2006 as a youth led, community based effort to develop life skills and

understand HIV/AIDS from a rights based perspective by focusing on communicating

information with a positive attitude, with emphasis on care, treatment and necessity of testing.

The programme that trains young people addressing issues of Sexuality, Rights, Health and HIV, where they implement:

1.Peer Education Training Programmes2.Public/Community based awareness workshops3.Youth Friendly Peer-to-Peer Training Material4.National Advocacy on the AEP with the government (supported by UNFPA and UNESCO)5.Community Advocacy through multiple mediums (arts, online communication, film, literature) with key stakeholders (The KYBKYR National Festival)

The programme urges young people to make informed choices and regarding their bodies, sexuality, rights, health, and relationships, enabling them to lead happier lives. It also

encourages them to be respectful of all people’s rights, and of the choices that they make.

5 States. 100 Peer Educators. 3,500 young people.

.

What are our key messages?

• Affirm that it is important to talk about sexuality.

• Assert that sexuality and expression of sexuality is intrinsic to each individual.

• Recognize that sexuality is a normal and important part of all people’s lives and while different people have different understandings and ways of expressing their sexuality, all people should experience their bodies and sexuality in a positive and fulfilling manner.

• That every person has the right to access information services relating to sexual rights and health irrespective of any other considerations.

• Recognize that gender is a fluid concept and gender roles are based on narrow societal constructs. Every individual has the right to choose and ascribe to different gender and/or sexual identities.

• Respect, and not violate, other people’s bodies and personal spaces, laying emphasis on the importance of consent in relationships.

• Recognize that different people have different body types and address existing stereotypes relating to body types, sexuality and notions of what is attractive.

• Respect our bodies and take proper care with respect to nutrition, exercise, sexual health and get regular health checkups.

• Recognize the importance of accessing the correct information from reliable sources, leading to informed decision making.

Analysis – Project Brief (Needs Assessments & Creative Thinking) Evaluation- 1

Design – Human Rights ApproachEvaluation - 2

Development – Training & Skills Development Evaluation - 3

Implementation – Public PhaseEvaluation – 4

4 Phase Evaluation SystemConceptualization / First Phase Implementation /Mid Cycle AssessmentEnd of Year Evaluation

Community Based Programme-How do young people implement the programme?

The peer education programme

1.Outreach to youth & adolescents both in and out of school settings.2.All programmes are free.3.Building partnerships.4.The workshop format that peer educators follow, are structured in a participative manner so as to allow the participants to share experiences and information.5.The conversation is to a large degree dependent on needs and questions of the participants and draws upon their responses to move forward. 6.Specific information and key principles are covered by the facilitator in the course of the conversation at relevant points. The entire session is based on activities/ exercises that the participants engage in.7.The space is aimed at being open, non judgemental, non-partisan and facilitators invite differing opinions and step in wherever needed to dispel misconceptions.8.Providing referrals to services works well.

Challenges:

1.Numbers of Scale2.Human Resource Management3.Multi year programming4.Disability friendly resources5.Youth friendly funding6.Developing access to youth friendly services.

The Advocacy Programme

• A Youth Led Process, supported by adult allies and organisations

• Demands and evidence for CSE backed by a strong community based programme, ongoing for 10 years.

• Evidence generation through qualitative and quantitative means-Pan India, through tie up’s with organisations and NGO’s.

• Advocacy is targeting The Ministry Of Human Resource management(MHRD), which houses The National Council for Education and Research Training- which is responsible for developing curiculum.

• Working in close collaboration with UNESCO and UNFPA, that are responsible for the draft of the Adoloscent Education Programme (AEP)

Steps TYPF went through:10 years of building community led youth work locally and

nationally.

1. Identification of issue as the need for CSE, through feedback and experiences of community based peer education workshops.I. Brought together young people from 10 states in India through annual

capacity building programmes.II. Experience in advocating regionally for CSE with Governments and INGO’s

2. Strategic planning for advocating for CSE nationally-took place over 3-6 months, with mentorship from allies.I. Identification of advocacy targets as UNESCO, UNFPA and NCERT and state

level mobilisation.II. Evidence generation and research from peer education workshops and

quantitative surveys from India (ongoing)

3. Building allies and a support network with youth led and youth supporting organisations, from 6 states in India where CSE is banned.

4. Review of the current adolescent education programme by young

people and its compilation (ongoing)

5. Ensuring representation of young people at decision making tables (can be tokenistic)

In Brief TYPF is currently working on the following areas:– Content– and Implementation

Through:– State level

Consultations– National Level

Consultation – Review of The AEP– Data gathering on

needs of young people

1. Content– Through reviewing draft of current AEP and

collecting quantitative data on what young people want as part of the curriculum.

2. Implementation of the AEP– State level partners have been identified, where

the AEP has been banned.– Consultations/ workshop at state level with youth

activists are being planned to • Mobilize support for CSE• Identify needs on content of the AEP• Identify strategies for implementation• Create strategy for state level advocacy

Questions?Photo Credits: Shiv Ahuja