Ondo educates pupils on sexual rights

The government warned the pupils, who were selected from various secondary schools across the state, against allowing anyone to abuse them sexually and to report such acts to the government for prompt action.The Permanent Secretary, Ondo State Ministry of Health, Dr Adeniran Ikuomola, gave the charge on Thursday, at the 2024 World Sexual Health Day. The programme,  was themed, ‘Positive Relationship: My body, my rights, my sexual health’.

Ikuomola, who was represented by the Director of Family Health, of the ministry, Mr Isaac Aladeniyi, said the programme was organised in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, to educate the pupils on ways to prevent sexual coercion against young ones.

He lamented that a lot of rape cases among young people were being reported while there were many more unreported ones in the communities, adding that the number of young people venturing into adolescent prostitution is increasingly worrisome, hence the need to educate these young ones.

He said, “If you look at the current burden of sexual health abuse among adolescents, you will see that we are having increasing numbers, especially in our cosmopolitan areas; lots of young children are going into adolescent prostitution; lots of rape cases among young people are being reported, while there are so much more that are unreported in our communities that people try to settle amicably and some of them, because of the stigma, don’t want to talk about it.

“What we are trying to do is to let the children themselves know that they have a right to their body and that there is a way that they can avoid and prevent sexual coercion. We also want to let them understand that the body that they have must also be in a state of well-being for them to be able to function well in their academics and all their endeavours.

“As young people, they have the right to dream, but they can only fulfil those dreams if they achieve sexual-emotional balance. Their body is their right and they need to maintain the body and keep that body in health for them to be able to achieve whatever they want to achieve in life.”

The PS also charged the pupils to speak out and report anybody who abuses or attempts to abuse them sexually to the appropriate authorities in the state government.

In her remarks, the Special Adviser Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Gender Matters, Mrs Olamide Falana, encouraged the children to maintain positive relationships and do away with friends that can lure them towards social vices.

“Today we told our young people that as future leaders, it is important for them to maintain positive relationships by doing away from negative friends who may lure them towards vices. That’s why I commend the Ministry of Health for bringing up this programme to help educate these young ones who are the leaders of tomorrow.

“The state has a child rights law that is in place; we also have violence against person provision law; these are laws that are there to ensure and to protect the rights of children and also their protection from all forms of violence and discrimination in the state.

PUNCH Online reports that sexual rights violations refer to the infringement of individuals’ fundamental rights related to their sexual autonomy, expression, and health.

They are integral to human rights, and violations of these rights often result in physical, psychological, and emotional harm. Addressing these violations requires legal protections, cultural shifts, and comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive rights.