BACKGROUND
PUBERTY
Many emotional and physical changes occur during puberty. Health-related behaviours that arise during adolescence have implications for health during adulthood. The World Health Organisation acknowledges that adolescents are a particularly vulnerable population and therefore need to be the explicit focus of health policies and program, as well as understand the processes taking place during adolescence and puberty.
SEXUALITY & RELATIONSHIPS
Positive sexual health is important for social, mental and physical wellbeing. The World Health Organisation upholds that all people should be entitled to have safe sexual experiences, free of discrimination and violence.
SAFE SEX
Safe sex practices not only avoid transmission of STIs and unwanted pregnancies, but also builds trust in relationships. The prevalence of STIs in Ethiopia is believed to be similar to other developing countries.
- 1% of Ethiopian women have had an STI in the past 12 months
- Single point prevalence of HIV in 2014 was 1.14%
- STIs can place a huge financial burden on families, communities and the country
COMPASS IMPACT
Compass aims to encompass health promotion by focussing on three areas that promotes and encourages positive sexual health:
- To encourage students at the School of St. Yared to identify qualities of healthy and unhealthy relationships, including understanding the meaning of consent;
- To inform students of the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty, and recognise these as normal; and
- To provide students with an adequate understanding of their own gender and sexuality, and to normalise differences exist between individuals.
