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“WE DON’T TALK ABOUT CONTRACEPTIVES”: STUDENTS' EXPOSURE TO AND ENGAGEMENT WITH SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INFORMATION AT THREE UNIVERSITIES IN ETHIOPIA [Abstract ID: 1101-05]
Recent research indicates that male and female students at higher education institutions in Ethiopia are highly sexually active and vulnerable to risky sexual practices (eg. Moges 2014; Sendo & Melaku 2015). It has also been shown that female students lack negotiating power and are exposed to sexual coercion, unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted diseases (eg. Adinew 2013; Solomon 2015). Due to silence around the issue of sexuality in Ethiopia, students enter universities and colleges with very limited sexual and reproductive health information. However, after joining universities they are exposed to different information on sexual and reproductive health, including programmes and campaigns run by the universities themselves (eg. Getnet 2009). Building on a qualitative research project among students at the universities of Addis Ababa, Jimma and Mekelle on sexuality, fertility control and abortion, the current paper discusses students’ exposure to and engagement with information about sexual relationships, reproduction and contraceptives. Our findings show that students are exposed to information on sexuality and reproductive health from various sources including mass media and peers. Many factors influence the amount and type of information students obtain, such as gender, place of origin and religion. Students’ engagement with the information provided also relies on the ways they place themselves in relation to young peoples’ own norms regarding sexual relationships and practices, norms which may be quite different from those held by society at large. This should be taken into account when planning information campaigns and programs directed towards university students; the current sexuality and reproductive health programs in all the three universities seem to be inadequate not only in terms of frequency but also when it comes to content and design.