The first activity took place at Ebukrom in the Wassa East District on 10th October 2021 whilst the second activity was held on 14th October 2021 at Cape Three Point in Ahanta West Municipal. These activities were community forums for traditional leaders, adolescent girls, and their parents using the updated Child Marriage Advocacy Toolkit. The aim of the activity was to change negative gender/social norms and stereotypes.
In all ninety (90) participants attended the program in each community. In each of the communities, the meeting targeted twenty (20) traditional authorities, thirty (35) parents, and thirty (35) adolescent girls. In both communities, the traditional leaders were aged thirty (30) and above; twenty-two (22) were males and the remaining eighteen (18) were female traditional leaders. Seventy parents were targeted in the two communities. Out of these thirty-nine (39) were mothers with the remaining being fathers. They were all aged thirty (30) and above. Majority of the adolescent girls were aged between sixteen (16) to nineteen (19) whilst a few of them were aged twelve (12) to fifteen (15) years.
Both communities expressed some misgivings about Family Planning services provided for adolescent’s girls. Though community members were schooled on the importance of some of the services provided, it is an opportunity for other stakeholders to further engage them on the importance of Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) to demystify their stands on Family Planning.
In conclusion, the activity was successful as the two communities had a different perspectives on the subject matter. The Department was able to learn about some negative gender norms and practices in the communities visited that promulgate Teenage Pregnancy leading to Child Marriage and therefore will be working closely with leaders of these communities to find pragmatic solutions to some of these issues.
