A new report has raised alarm over restrictive parental consent policies that prevent adolescent girls from accessing contraceptives, blaming them for rising cases of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

The report by the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and Aids (Kelin) says the policies pose serious barriers to young people seeking reproductive health care, even as early sexual activity among the youth continues to increase.

Citing the case of a 17-year-old girl in Kisii county referred to as AO, the report shows how rigid health service rules continue to harm adolescents. AO had gone to a local health centre to request contraceptives but was turned away because she did not have parental approval.

Although the nurse was kind, she insisted that AO needed her mother’s consent to receive any contraceptives or reproductive health support. AO never went back to the facility and became a mother months later.

“I couldn’t tell my mother. She would think I’m immoral,” AO, whose mother is a staunch Seventh-Day Adventist, told researchers compiling the report.

AO’s experience mirrors that of many other girls in the country. Data from the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) shows that 15 per cent of girls aged 15–19 have been pregnant. A

mong them, 12 per cent had given birth, 1 per cent experienced a pregnancy loss, and 3 per cent were currently pregnant at the time of the survey.

The report criticises Section 3.4 of the National Reproductive Health Policy 2022–2032, which limits access to reproductive health care and information for girls and young women under 21 years old.

It describes the policy as imposing “unreasonable requirements” by demanding parental consent before such services are given, denying young people the right to the highest attainable standard of health.

“This is despite evidence that points to an increasingly sexually active young population,” the report reads.

According to the KDHS 2022, 8 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men aged 15–24 had their first sexual experience before turning 15. The findings are similar to those in the 2014 KDHS report, which also showed early sexual debut, especially among boys.

The report also highlights the neglect of persons with disabilities in reproductive health services, despite them making up 2.2 per cent of Kenya’s population,  about 900,000 people.

Of this number, women account for 57 per cent, or approximately 523,883. However, 80 per cent of people living with disabilities reportedly lack access to quality medical care, compared to 50 per cent of the general population.

HIV awareness is also found to be dangerously low among young people. The report states that 41 per cent of women and 39 per cent of men aged 15–34 had no knowledge of how to prevent HIV.

“In 2021, an estimated 66.7 per cent (23,051) of all new HIV infections occurred among women and girls,” the report says.

“Young women are particularly at risk, with eight out of every 10 new HIV infections occurring among girls and young women aged 15–24.”

The report also raises concern over the difficult circumstances faced by key populations, including sex workers, gay men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, and those in prisons or other confined spaces.

These groups face greater risks of HIV infection but continue to be denied access to safe and effective services due to discrimination, violence, legal restrictions and widespread stigma.