Publications - Released in 2003
Adolescence is a formative time of transition to adulthood, roughly concurrent with the second decade of life. What happens between ages 10 and 19 shapes how girls and boys live out their lives as women and men—not only in the reproductive arena, but also in the social and economic realms. Throughout the world, girls and boys are treated differently from birth onward, but at puberty this gender divide widens.
Boys enjoy new privileges, while girls endure new restrictions (Mensch, Bruce & Greene, 1998). In Pakistan, boys gain autonomy, freedom of movement, opportunity, and power (including power over sexual and reproductive lives of girls), while girls are systematically deprived of freedom and independent action. Only recently have the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents received attention in Pakistan. As part of an initial situation analysis, investigators conducted a study to explore unmarried adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes and sources of information about sexual and reproductive health, as well as to assess levels of physical and sexual abuse.