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Let’s talk about sex, baby!  Let’s do more than just talk!

Mmoho is a partnership between civil society organizations, government and academic institutions to raise awareness about teenage pregnancy in South Africa through a national campaign.  The campaign is aimed at all segments of society to reduce the rate of unplanned teenage pregnancies, using positive discourse and asserting sexual and reproductive rights as an important component of human rights.

Tian Johnson of Sonke Gender Justice, a campaign partner, asserts that “limited access to contraception, sexuality education and gender based violence are just some of the many factors that contribute to the high rates of teenage pregnancy. Sexuality information and education, if provided, gives young men and women a strong and positive understanding of their bodies, their rights, and choices. “

Approximately 30% of South African teenage women have reported being pregnant prior to the age of 18, with the majority of those pregnancies unplanned. In an era of Google searches, widely used social media and high profile HIV campaigns that supposedly make information easily accessible, such numbers raise concerns around what information teens are getting, and indeed whether youth-friendly services are available to them.

The hard earned democracy that was paid for in the blood of Sharpeville victims and countless others has resulted in our elegantly crafted Constitution, especially The Bill of Rights that entrenches human rights as central to dignity and justice. Rather than prescribing what one “should” or “should not” do, these rights ensure that each individual is protected to make informed choices that speak to his/her reality, regardless of age.

On that rights-based foundation the Mmoho campaign is convinced that cooperative action between the sectors of civil society, media, policy and government, particularly educators and health care providers, can lead to effective implementation of these ideals set out by policy makers and government, such that infrastructure, information, and services are available and accessible for all, especially in this case, for teenagers.

Mmoho locates adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights as pivotal to the success and wellbeing of tomorrows generation.

“It is as an important health right.  It is what the heroes, martyrs and freedom fighters sacrificed for.  Ensuring that government services are made available - that can meet young people’s particular needs, including the right to information, education and services on sexual and reproductive health - is what we owe to future generations.  It is their right, and it is our obligation to ensure they can realise those rights”, says Johnson.

The Mmoho campaign calls for teens to take control of their sexual and reproductive health by seeking information about contraception and other sexual and reproductive health needs; it encourages teen girls to know, exercise and demand their right of agency, over their bodies, health and lives and promotes teenage boys to be supportive and involved in contraceptive decision-making. In order to build a supportive environment for teens to take action, Mmoho also encourages parents to talk about sex and sexuality; educators to ensure learners’ have access sexuality education and are supported if they are already a teen parent, and calls on health care workers to render confidential services to young people; free of judgment and stigma.

Johnson contends that “every young person has the right to be healthy, to have access to services and to have control in decision-making. When these rights are recognised for example, by helping young people deal with the practice and outcomes of sex in a responsible, respectful and safe way, it becomes possible for them to have satisfying relationships that are characterised by respect and concern for and enjoyment of the other”.

Mmoho- Planning Teens Bright Futures- envisions a world in which teens are empowered with comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, motivated to take action relating to their sexual health and can plan their bright futures. The campaign is here to ignite conversation and action by sharing reliable information, promoting a positive and rights-based approach to preventing teenage pregnancy, providing a forum for discussion and more.