To Save a Girl-Child, You Must Train a Boy-Child: A Note on Situational Irony

Amoo, Emmanuel O. and Adebayo, Mercy E. and Owoeye, Michael O. and Egharevba, M. E. (2022) To Save a Girl-Child, You Must Train a Boy-Child: A Note on Situational Irony. International Journal of Environmental Research And Public Health, 19. ISSN 1735-1472

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Abstract

Despite numerous initiatives and resources to save and protect the health and sexual rights of girls and women, the persistently high rate of unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and sexual violence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has remain a topical public health challenge. This study hypothesised that the continuous conspicuous omission of boys/men in the interventions to combat this menace could be a long-life impediment to the realisation of sustainable health for girls and women in the region. The study adopted a systematic review of extant population-based published studies from Scopus, Google Scholars, PubMed, EMBASE, and AJOL. Literature coverage included the post-United Nations’ coordinated International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, 1994, which marked the beginning of a massive campaign for women/girls sexual rights. The obtained qualitative data were appraised and synthesised towards spurring policy recommendations for gender balanced initiatives on the sexual and reproductive health rights in SSA. The study highlighted that unwanted pregnancy occurs only when a boy/man has unprotected sex with a girl/woman without considering her choice or rights. It is considered ironic that the dominant factors are boys and men but many enlightenment initiatives/campaigns are concentrated on girls and women. The study developed a schematic save-a-girl-child framework that illustrated the possible dividends inherent in the training of a boy-child to achieve a safer world for the girls/women. It recommends increase in the exposure of boys and men to sexual education and counselling, which can motivate them to be supporters of family planning, supporters of only wanted pregnancy, wanted fatherhood, marital fidelity, intimate partners’ harmonious living rather than violence, and wife or partner empowerment.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	boy-child; girl-child; unwanted pregnancy; family planning; initiatives; girls/women sexual and reproductive health rights
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	nwokealisi
Date Deposited:	03 Nov 2023 15:45
Last Modified:	03 Nov 2023 15:45
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/17486

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