Press Release by Mrs. Juliette Bynoe Sutherland, Incoming Executive Director, Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA)
The Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA) strongly supports initiatives to rationalize the age of sexual consent with the age of access to services without parental consent and lauds Faith Marshall-Harris, UNICEF Advocate for Children for bringing into sharp focus the legal gap that exists for sixteen and seventeen year olds in Barbados.
According to Director of the BFPA, Mrs. Juliette Bynoe–Sutherland, “the idea that young people across the country can be legally sexually active at 16 years old and not be able to prevent and access treatment for sexually transmitted infections or prevent unplanned pregnancies is deeply problematic and the BFPA for many years has been lobbying to close this gap”. She stated that The BFPA believed that the role of parents must be respected and acknowledged that some parents were adequately addressing the issue of teen sexuality in the home and that it was understandable why some parents had concerns that any change in policy or legislation may prevent them from being aware of the health seeking behaviour of those under their charge or that a change in law may be seen by teens as encouraging sexual activity.
“Many parents are already adequately addressing these issues and are prepared to address their children’s needs should they learn or suspect that they are sexually active. However, many parents are not addressing issues of sexuality or are in denial that their children are sexually active, leaving many young persons to pursue sexual expression secretly and to become exposed to risky activity such as unprotected sex” Mrs. Bynoe-Sutherland lamented.
The BFPA executive further noted that evidence from local research indicated that that many young persons were already sexually active by age 16 and that many teens had sex involuntarily or through coercion by peers or older persons. “I therefore do not subscribe to the notion that sexually active young persons are a hopeless lot and should be consigned to rubbish heap to take whatever they get from sexual activities. These are our young people and HIV, sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy can be prevented. They can legally have sex at 16 – so let us give them the right to freely access services and treatment” she stressed.
Bynoe-Sutherland also said that members of the BFPA Youth Advocacy Movement had shared that there was a large number of teens who did not feel they had parents that could help them navigate the issue of sexuality and that the BFPA therefore believed that it would be preferable to have young people, without parental support, be able to access information and services from competent qualified professionals who can, in addition to providing advice and treatment, ensure that they were not being sexually exploited or abused. “Our young people are very tech savvy and rather than sourcing arbitrary information from the internet or purchasing medication on line – I would prefer them to seek their parents out as a first step but where they cannot or fear recrimination – we want them to be able to seek a health or social work professional. In her words,”the common law has long recognized the concept of the “mature minor” and the right of him or her to access medical services and legislative and policy reform is needed in Barbados to ensure that professionals are able to comfortably deliver services without the fear of having to defend their decision making in court. This fear has long stood as a barrier to service provision and our young people are often left without access.”
The BFPA welcomed the opportunity to engage in dialogue on this matter recognizing that there was a role for alternative approaches used by BFPA such as abstinence and age appropriate information to delay the entry of young people in to sexual activity. “The BFPA however will continue to stridently lobby on behalf of the often voiceless 16 and 17 years old young persons, who are sexually active, to ensure that they have access to information and treatment and to remove any policy barriers to access.” Bynoe-Sutherland concluded.
November 19, 2014
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