Sexuality and Reproductive Health Training with the Access to Justice Team

The Access to Justice Team in Melmoth has been talking to community groups about sexuality and reproductive health. Here is part of a report about these conversations from Thobile Biyela:

I ask them is these sexual and reproductive rights protected in our communities they said no, and I ask them how? one boy said how can the married men accept this right said: you have a right to choose the number of children you want to have, because men paid a lobola and their aim is to raise their families, Inspector Ntuli respond to him whether you like or not but constitution said so and it is illegal to break a rule and we ask them what they feel about these rights, the most woman they look so happy and they said, they feel happy and one woman her name BG said this right said they have a right to choose the number of children, its need to supply in married people only because the young girl they get children in their home and if the parent want to punished them they said it is our rights and she complain about the money of Child Support Grant, it is a causes of many young children getting pregnant in an early stage. and one woman raise an issue of how can they do as the community members if they see a child get an abuse in his or her family because they afraid may be they can put their life in danger, we told them that they report it in social workers and they need to told them that they want to be anonymous person.

That woman raise an issue of in her area there is a girl of ten years old who was raped by her step father but her mother instead of open the case she takes a child and gives her step mother.
In that place this girl is sleeping with all the young boys and she have an infection because she heard her step mother said she was taking her to the clinic and she have a sore in her private parts shuuuuu it was a serious issue all people are in the room they look so said. And I told her that because we invite the people from the Government Department she need to ask that question, because all people in the room are look so sad and scared we done an ice-breaker. And they said it is difficult to refuse the sex if you are married and we ask them what make it difficult they said they respect their culture. And it is difficult for them to speak with these rights in the communities, but they will try.

We told them that we are not going to make them change their cultures but we want them to look things in a different ways. They said they are agreeing but it is difficult it will take a long time to understand these rights especially in the elders.