Orhei – A room full with more than 200 pupils and one topic to discuss – human rights. This school year began for UNFPA at Orhei High School “Onisifor Ghibu” with a lecture on human rights and tolerance. The roles of teachers were split between UNFPA Representative in Moldova Rita Columbia and the 11th grade “Onisifor Ghibu” High School pupil Vladlen Grecu (17 y.o.), who is a volunteer at Youth Friendly Health Center from Orhei, but also an trainer within the peer-to-peer education network Y-PEER Moldova. 

“Sexual and reproductive rights are human rights. Moreover, the sexual and reproductive choices of young people can have a cascading effect on their human rights. Adolescent pregnancy, for example, can lead girls to drop out of school, which deprives them of their right to education. Lack of understanding about gender equality can lead to discrimination and other human rights concerns”, opens Rita Columbia the lecture.

As a young person himself, Vadlen shares his experience with his schoolmates of passing through the adolescence transformations in the situation when his mother and father moved abroad to work while he was only 6 years. 

“For many years, before we started to use Skype or Viber, my communication with my mother was limited to 5 minutes a day by phone. Surely, I couldn’t discuss with her the many questions I had regarding the transformation my body has been going through”, says Vladlen. 

Vladlen is one of 100 000 children in Moldova having one of both parents abroad. In the absence of sexuality education in schools, Moldova registers negative trends in terms of youth health with high rates of STIs and HIV infections among young people, two times higher adolescent pregnancy rates compared to EU countries and high level of violence against women. 

The human rights topic was discussed on the 1st of September in several schools in Moldova as a result of the UN Diversity Initiative. Representatives of the UN agencies in Moldova have talked to pupils about human rights, the right of young people to claim the respect of their rights, as well as the tolerance and importance of accepting people from vulnerable groups in schools and in the society at large. 

But how many schools in Moldova began this school year with a lecture on sexuality education? 

Every young person will one day have lifechanging decisions to make about their sexual and reproductive health. Therefore, every adolescent has the right to accurate information about his or her sexual and reproductive health and to quality and friendly services to be able to take informed decisions. Ensuring the access to sexuality education in school is guaranteeing that young people can fully enjoy their human rights.