Addressing Policy and Legal Aspects of SRHR at the Girl Up Kenya Leadership Summit 2024

The Center for Reproductive Rights’ Africa team participated in the Girl Up Kenya Leadership Summit—an annual program that aims to empower girls and young women to take action in advancing gender equality. This year’s summit, held July 26–27 in Nairobi, Kenya, attracted more 800 adolescent girls (ages 13–24) from across Kenya and throughout Africa.

At the summit, Elsy Sainna, the Center’s Associate Director of Advocacy and External Relations for Africa, delivered the keynote speech. In addition, the Center organized a side event to raise awareness of legal barriers and policy gaps related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and how they impact adolescents’ education, health and economic opportunities.

The side event, “Menstrual Hygiene and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR),” focused on the policy and legal aspects of ASRHR and was attended by more than 150 girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24. Anita Otieno, the Center’s Marshall Weinberg Global Legal Fellow for Africa, facilitated discussions during the event.

Here are three key highlights from the Center’s side event: 

1. The Need for Legal and Policy Reforms

Girls across Africa continue to face limitations in accessing comprehensive SRHR information and services. These barriers not only affect their health but also hinder their education, leadership and economic potential. 

The session highlighted key challenges, including: 

• Teen pregnancy; 
• Restrictive school re-entry policies; 
• Limited access to safe abortion services; and 
• Inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. 

The girls and young women were taught about current laws and policies that improve their access to reproductive health and rights and about regional mechanisms that support adolescents’ involvement in SRHR issues.  

For instance, they learned about a recent case in Tanzania involving school re-entry policies for pregnant girls. This spurred discussions on those policies, which profoundly impact girls in many African countries.  

In the case—brought by the Center and the Legal and Human Rights Centre of Tanzania (LHRC) on behalf of Tanzanian girls who were expelled from school for being pregnant—the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) ruled that subjecting adolescent girls to forced pregnancy testing and subsequently denying them access to education violated the adolescent girls’ human rights.

The ruling by the ACERWC—a regional body—highlighted the broader challenges facing girls across the continent.

2. Peer-Led Discussions and Learning

With the summit’s emphasis on peer engagement, during the side event, the Center and its partners facilitated interactive discussions that empowered participants to take the lead in advocating for their own rights.  

ASRHR topics discussed included:

• Consent; 
• Contraception; 
• Safe sex, and 
• The rights of pregnant adolescents.

The girls and women shared their personal experiences and ideas and proposed potential policy changes to improve access to their SRHR, which helped empower them to advocate for their rights.

3. Addressing Myths and Misconceptions Through Q&A Sessions

To debunk common myths and misconceptions around SRHR topics, the Center facilitated Question & Answer sessions that fostered an open and safe space where participants were able to ask questions and share their uncertainties about topics such as abortion, contraception and sexual consent. 

Facilitators in their areas of expertise provided participants with accurate information, helping to break down social and cultural stigma and dispel misinformation that often hinders girls and young women from accessing these essential services.

The Way Forward: New SRHR Working Group  

One of the key outcomes from the Girl Up Leadership Summit was to create a technical working group comprised of various SRHR organizations, including the Center, that will collaborate on addressing the adolescent SRHR issues discussed and advocate for effective policy reforms.  

This key outcome reaffirms the Center’s commitment to work with partners and other key stakeholders to foster a future where girls and young women are empowered to lead and advocate for their sexual and reproductive health and rights through education, peer-led discussions and ongoing advocacy efforts.

To learn more about the 2024 Girl Up Kenya Leadership Summit, explore the impact report here.