Written by: Sabrina Basilio
Graphic Design by: Suzy Mamangun
A lot has been said about the importance of media and information literacy in a world that continually expands and recontextualizes itself in various digital platforms. Our basic education curriculum is even designed to protect our status as one of the world’s most English-proficient and literate countries. But the conversation on sexual and reproductive health literacy continues to be challenged by religious opposition and outdated interpretations of it.
Are we really as literate as we say we are?
As if still in the hands of our Spanish conquerors from 500 years ago, conservative church leaders, educators, and policy-makers continue to outlaw contraceptive medication and stigmatize conversations on how to treat sexually-transmitted diseases (STD’s.) A lot of controversy still surrounds the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Equality (SOGIE) Bill despite numerous hate crimes that demonstrate the country’s tolerance towards gender-based discrimination and violence. Even simple acts of naming and acknowledging body parts are skirted around with unwarranted shame.
Many published studies and reports have proven that it is this very lack of reproductive healthcare information, services, and structured education policies that keep the country ill-equipped in the face of many prevalent issues like teenage pregnancy, maternal mortality, child trafficking and abandonment, and HIV infections.
In 2015 for example, a journal from the Guttmacher Institute shows that approximately five million women aged 15–19 in the Philippines, (meaning a fifth of the country’s women of reproductive age) were highly vulnerable to medical complications because of inadequate or interrupted access to sexual health-related services. There are also growing reports of low-income women in urban areas being more susceptible to pregnancy-induced morbidities and self-abortion methods, despite knowledge on the life-threatening dangers of self-medication.
The Department of Health has similarly reported that most Filipino adolescents have a high awareness of HIV/ AIDS, but only a fair level of accurate knowledge on the modes of transmission, prevention, and treatment. It can then be argued that while a national curriculum for sex and reproductive health education exists, it is rendered ineffective by ill-prepared or reluctant teachers, sidestepped discussions on STD-related issues, and general judgement from the community. Dr. Nafis Sadik, former Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund summarizes this best:
“The largest challenge facing us does not lie in resources or delivery systems or even infrastructures, but in the minds of people. We must be sensitive to cultural traditions, but we must not allow them to stand in the way of actions we know are needed. We have to overcome the obstacles of superstitions, prejudices, and stereotypes. These changes may not be easy and we face formidable challenges. They involve questioning entrenched beliefs and attitudes, especially toward girls. Lifelong habits must be given up, but they have to be, because in the end, Asia’s future depends on all its people--and it will depend as much on adolescents as on adults.”
Are we ready to improve our sexual and reproductive health literacy?
It’s worth noting that interlaced with the development of the country’s media and information literacy, is the development of a more liberated, informed, and civically engaged youth. Social media, as the most democratic communication channel available today, has afforded adolescents the platform to air out grievances about the gender-based discrimination they see on TV and even experience in real life.
So while conservative educators and leaders in office maintain a closed stance on revisiting our policies on gender equality, a lot of information and discourse on sexuality and sexual health care continue to circulate online. A lot of Twitter hashtags like #MeToo, #HijaAko, #MCHSDoBetter, and #TimesUpAteneo break cultures of silence around school-based sexual harassment; a lot of volunteer and non-government organizations curate informative content on Instagram to raise awareness on gender minority rights and issues; a lot of international journals on reproductive healthcare are easily accessible with a few keywords and an Internet connection; and a lot of Youtube influencers use their platforms to educate and empower their young viewers with the necessary information that adults deprive of them.
It is time for the Philippines to accept that (1) the clamor for sexual and reproductive health literacy has long existed outside the confines of government-approved textbooks; and (2) resisting and policing this cultural movement instead of providing it professional and economic support will only put the Filipino youth at risk of harm.
References
Austria, C. S. (2004). The Church, the State and Women's Bodies in the Context of Religious Fundamentalism in the Philippines. Reproductive Health Matters, 12(24), 96-103. doi:10.1016/s0968-8080(04)24152-0
Dongarwar, D., & Salihu, H. M. (2019). Influence of Sexual and Reproductive Health Literacy on Single and Recurrent Adolescent Pregnancy in Latin America. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 32(5), 506-513. doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2019.06.003
Guttmacher, A. F. (1973). Commentary: Family Planning Need and the Future of the Family Planning Program. Family Planning Perspectives, 5(3), 175. doi:10.2307/2133818
Singh, N. S., Smith, J., Aryasinghe, S., Khosla, R., Say, L., & Blanchet, K. (2018). Evaluating the effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health services during humanitarian crises: A systematic review. Plos One, 13(7). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0199300
The role of governments in promoting health literacy. (2016, November 04). Retrieved September 05, 2020, from https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/9gchp/health-literacy-government-role/en/
Berja, Clarinda L. Case study, Philippines: communication and advocacy strategies
adolescent reproductive and sexual health. Bangkok: UNESCO PROAP, 1999.
29 p. (Communication and advocacy strategies: adolescent reproductive and sexual health; series two)
United Nations Population Prospects, Births by age group of mother 2010-2015, 2011, < http://esa.un.org/wpp/Excel-Data/fertility.html> accessed Sept. 21, 2012
Best Practices for Youth-Friendly Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved September 06, 2020, from https://advocatesforyouth.org/resources/health-information/bp-youth-friendly-services/