Youth address sex and safety issues

Afrika Tikkun, a non-profit organisation based in Sandton, recently established a ‘Young Urban Women’ programme to help girls in school and young women tackle different societal issues and to motivate them to address these issues through research, and to implement the respective solutions.

Four school pupils of the programme put together different presentations on several issues such as unprotected sex and the safety and hygiene of public toilets, among other issues, and presented their research findings and possible solutions to the media on 8 August at Afrika Tikkun’s offices in Hyde Park.

Kgomotso Moretsele, an 18-year-old school pupil from Alex, spoke about the issue of outdoor public toilets in Alex.

She said, “As part of my research, I spoke to 145 women in Alex and 35 percent of these women had been raped or attacked when using these outdoor toilets late at night. These toilets are poorly lit, there is no security and they smell in the summer. They are hardly ever cleaned and this is a health issue for women as they easily catch infections.”

Moretsele highlighted that because of the risks involved with using these toilets, women ignore their urge to use the toilet and develop urinary tract infections and suffer from severe constipation.

As a part of her presentation, the pupil showed attendees pictures of the state of the toilets in Alexandra. “Many of the outdoor toilets do not flush, they do not have locks on the door and the sewage overflows onto the surrounding land.” In moving forward, Moretsele wants to work with the relevant authorities, with the help of Afrika Tikkun, to alleviate this issue.

Hillbrow-based pupils, 16-year-old Nomthandazo Simelane and Nokukhanya Maposa and 17-year-old Jessica Sanelisiwe discussed some of the issues that young girls face with regards to sexual health and contraceptives. The trio explained that many other girls feel ashamed to ask about contraception and matters regarding sexual health and it is this lack of knowledge that causes teenage pregnancies and sexual diseases.

Sanelisiwe said, “Many girls drop out [of school] after finding out that they are pregnant. We need to make a difference.”

Maposa added that she believes many of her peers do not know what contraceptives are. “Sex at a young age is already happening and we need contraceptives despite being young. A lack of contraceptives is a human rights issue,” she said.

The group explained how they are putting their research into practice, “We got the nurses at the Hillbrow Clinic chocolates on Nurse’s Day and have formed a partnership with the clinic so that we can work together and create awareness.”