New York Newsday, December 1, 2002

By Mabel Bianco

A United Nations report released last week announced that women have caught up with men as far as AIDS is concerned. Half the adults affected with HIV worldwide are now women. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It was just a matter of time before the disease shifted from one originally affecting gay white men to one transmitted heterosexually all over the world.

>>Available in PDF at the links below / Available in French and Spanish

Summary: Set of 7 factsheets developed by the International Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children (New York, 2002) The factsheets compile basic information, key actions, and international commitments on human rights, families, HIV/AIDS, maternal health, unsafe abortion, sexuality education, and trafficking as each topic relates to young people (18 pages total).

>>Available in PDF / Available in French and Spanish

Summary: Factsheet developed by the International Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition in preparation for the 2002 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children. Includes basic information, key actions, and international commitments on sexual and reproductive health education and services for adolescents (3 pages).

>>Available in Word and PDF

Introduction
Mongolia, located between China and Russia, is a country with a unique history and rich culture. As you can see from the map, our land territory is large, but the total population is only 2.4 million. Twenty-five percent are adolescents aged 10-19. Because our country was once part of the socialist system, we have a centralized public education system. Consequently, school enrollment is high, and the population is highly literate. But, as in many cultures, discussion of sexuality was taboo in Mongolia for centuries. With the collapse of the socialist system, Mongolia has been experiencing changes in its political, economic, social, and cultural structures.

>>Available in Word and PDF

Introduction
Listening to what my colleagues have just presented leaves no doubt in my mind that we have made gains in adolescents' sexual and reproductive rights. But a lot remains to be done. One thing that we cannot overlook is the right of young people to participate in all decision-making processes that relate to them.

>>Available in Word and PDF

Introduction: A Confusing Beginning
Pakistan's approximately 40 million adolescents, like untold hundreds of millions the world over, receive mixed messages about sexuality. At home, many of them learn that sex is shameful. Their parents fear that providing even the most basic information about reproduction will unleash their sexual desires. Yet on television, teens see sex used overtly to sell items like deodorant and chewing gum. In their neighborhoods, especially in the cities, many are exposed to pornography or perhaps to a poverty-stricken neighbor who must sell sex to feed her children. Many of their peers may experiment sexually, while their teacher skips the chapter in their biology textbook on reproductive processes out of embarrassment or shyness. Religious leaders seldom discuss sex, and when they do their emphasis is usually on the dangers of premarital sex. Furthermore, as Pakistani boys and girls undergo physical changes, the world around responds with a new set of expectations—expectations of roles and responsibilities that are defined strictly on the basis of whether they are male or female. Along with the hormonal changes that accompany puberty, how can these adolescents be anything but confused about their bodies and their sexual feelings?