This national report would not be possible if it were not for the commitment, leadership, and support, provided by the Government of Lesotho to ensure the sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) of all Basotho from every walk of life; are protected and supported. This also includes ongoing government-led action, to mitigate gender-based violence (GBV) by partnering civil society to redress gaps; at policy level, by ratifying international agreements and codifying them into local legal frameworks; at institutional level, by strengthening stronger human rights compliant institutions through capacity building for service providers; and community level, by ensuring the public is educated on their rights and that services are made more accessible.

This report therefore acknowledges His Majesty King Letsie III, Honorable Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Senate, Speaker of the National Assembly, Chief Justice,

Honorable Ministers, Principal Secretaries, Senior Government Officials and Heads of Departments, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, International Organizations, civil society organizations (CSOs), Academics, Activists, Community Leaders, people of the mountain kingdom; including vulnerable populations of youth, women and girls. 

Special thanks are reserved for Mr Molantoa Edward Letlisa who is a holder of a Master of Social

Science in Policy & Development Studies from University of Kwazulu Natal; a Master of Arts in Philosophy from National University of Lesotho; and was the Lead-Consultant on this project. The editorial work on the report was supported by Mr Modekai Musundire who is a leading journalist with over a decade experience practicing media in the Southern Africa region. Both the Lead Consultant and Editor were representing, The Consultant Africa (pty) ltd (TCA). The gratitude is also extended to TCA partners in the Southern Africa region and the United Kingdom, who provided oversight support in development of this report.

Recognition is given to Sesotho Media & Development (SM&D), the organization through which this consultancy work was commissioned.  This extends to (SM&D) Board of Directors, Executive Director – Mamolefe Petlane, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer – Dr Lelokoana Lesia, including the employees and volunteers working tirelessly with youth and communities in the northern and central regions of Lesotho around issues of SRHR and GBV. 

Special Appreciation is also reserved for the partners of Sesotho Media & Development, who have been actively supporting work aimed at curbing gender-based violence including, Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation (MGYSR), and local Service.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the funders of this exercise, AmplifyChange and Bread for the World (BftW)

                                                                             EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following Lesotho national sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) Advocacy Report, was commissioned by Sesotho Media and Development (SM&D) and has been prepared by The Consultant Africa (pty) ltd. The purpose of this report is to highlight SRHR challenges youth are facing in Lesotho in the post COVID-19 era. The report has been produced from data collected from peer-to-peer youth consultations in communities, social-media and radio, over a six-month period. The report was undertaken through a project called: 

“Using Facilitated Film Discussions to Strengthen Youth-driven informed demand, uptake and linkage to SRHR services”.

The project, which commenced in 2021 and ends in 2023, is being implemented in the districts of Maseru and Mafeteng to achieve the following:

• Supporting youth-driven informed-demand, uptake and linkage to SRHR and sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) services;
• Empowering youth, including adolescent girls and young women to report SGBV and support victims to be linked to services;
• Strengthening cooperation and understanding between youth and service providers for improved uptake of SRHR and SGBV services by youth;
• Supporting provision of youth-friendly quality services by service providers;
• Protective laws on human rights and sexual offences are observed at community level and; – Youth are now proactive human rights activists advocating for SRHR and SGBV services. This report summarizes the high priority SRHR challenges youth are facing in the country, their root causes and effects. The report ends by giving recommendations to service providers based on the feedback from the youth themselves. The national report will be used as a tool to empower youth, with evidence to conduct advocacy and awareness for the improvement of their SRHR context.

METHODOLOGY FOR DATA COLLECTION

COMMUNITY LEADERS’ ENGAGEMENT 

A total of 126 Community Leaders (CL) were engaged through 8 focus group gatherings to provide advance information on the challenges youth face in their communities. The CLs provided the basis of information through which the engagements with the youth were conducted.

All leaders signed a pledge to support their youth in accessing SRHR information, products and services. The reports and pledge forms signed by the CLs are included as primary data sources.

YOUTH IDENTIFIED & TRAINED AS CHANGE AGENTS

Twelve youth were identified through introduction meetings conducted in 8 communities in the districts Maseru and Mafeteng. The youth were also selected based on their prior experience in SRHR behavior change communication. Training was provided to them to equip them with tools to conduct strategic discussions with their peers. 

They were also trained on using tools like the learning cycle in film discussions, problem tree to identify SRHR challenges affecting their peers, including the root causes and effects, to conduct stakeholder mapping together with their peers. Additional training was provided for the youth, to gain technical understanding into advocacy and awareness, and how to use them in facilitating constructive positive change for their peers.

FOCUS GROUPS DISCUSSIONS

In order to unearth the challenges faced by youth in Lesotho, SM&D identified and studied youth from 8 community areas (villages): 6 are from Maseru district, while 2 are from Mafeteng district.

A total number of 24 focus group discussions were conducted with 354 participants. 

The general themes reflecting these challenges are: human trafficking, unplanned pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, child labor and domestic violence. These themes are displayed in table 1 below.

                                                                                    Table 1: Challenges

Table 1 above shows the information about the occurrence of each challenge in relation to the number of times it was mentioned by youth in the studied areas/villages. It can be noted the most cited challenges are teenage pregnancy and child marriages as each makes 25% while together, they make 50% of the challenges affecting youth. Sexual abuse and child labor together constituted

26% of these challenges because each total 13%. The least cited challenges affecting youth are human trafficking, unplanned pregnancy and domestic violence since each makes 8%, which is 24% of these challenges.

RADIO AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADVOCACY

Each of the 12 youth was requested to select an advocacy topic out of the challenges identified in the Focus Group discussions. They used their experiences in discussing these issues with their peers from the 8 communities and prepared questionnaires to obtain qualitative and quantitative data/feedback. 

The most common social media platform utilized by youth was Facebook. The radio station used was Bokamoso FM.

DATA COLLECTION SUMMARY

The youth were the primary informants of this report, while community leaders were the substantiators. The data collection process was influenced by the Youth Empowerment Theory which states that engaging youth in pro-social, meaningful, and community-enhancing activities that the youth themselves define and control helps youth gain vital skills, responsibilities, and confidence necessary to become productive and healthy adults. Means/tools for collecting data included activity reports, questionnaires, stakeholders, problem tree, learning cycle methodology, to mention a few. Substantiators of this report include community leaders and service providers.

METHODOLOGY FOR DATA ANALYSIS

DESK REVIEW OF DATA

The consultant was given access to reports from activities in communities, radio and social media. The reports were assessed to extract qualitative and quantitative data and analyze the findings. The consultant developed a coding table to isolate key issues. 

SUBSTANTIATION WITH PRIMARY INFORMANTS (YOUTH)

A two-day workshop was used as a platform to substantiate the findings of the Desk Review through interviewing the youth. The findings from the Desk Review were shared with the youth and discussions were conducted towards deeper appreciation of the issues raised.

The implication derived from this substantiation is that youth are mostly affected by teenage pregnancy and child marriages. It is, however, very important to note that all these challenges need to be given equal attention and addressed because they could somehow be linked. For example, teenage pregnancy might be linked to unplanned pregnancy while child marriages could be linked to both. Again, domestic violence might be the effect of all other challenges. Therefore, comprehensive strategies involving all the stakeholders with the capabilities and resources to address these challenges should be put in place for the betterment of youth in the area in focus.

DATA ANALYSIS SUMMARY

The thematic data analysis method was employed to analyze data collected from peer-to-peer consultations among youth through social media, radio, and physical gatherings. This report focuses on urgent sexual reproductive and health rights (SRHR) challenges that youth in the country are faced with everyday. These challenges include human trafficking, child marriages, unplanned pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, child labor, sexual abuse and domestic violence. These challenges form the basis of themes used to analyze the data for this report. 

However, it must be noted that the purpose of the community discussion forum interviews was to unearth the root causes and effects of these challenges and, that being the case, these causes and effects form the subsidiary themes to understand these challenges. The analysis therefore displays each challenge as well as its cause and effects. 

FINDINGS

SRHR CHALLENGES: CAUSES AND EFFECTS 

Human trafficking 

Causes  

Poverty and unemployment 

Youth identified unemployment as the main cause of human trafficking and that both boys and girls can be trafficked through child labor and child marriages. In their explanations, youth noted that “parents are seen as the perpetrators of child labor when there are financial struggles in the families.

They also influence children to get married and this is illegal.” One interviewee from a social media platform where this issue was discussed noted that being in a sexual relationship with rich women can be another way through which unemployed boys become victims of human trafficking. The respondent explained that rich older women can be perpetrators too by luring boys desperate for money and a good life. Indeed, unemployment is cited as a serious challenge particularly for youth, hence they would even resort to crime. Therefore, this indicates that unemployment of parents or youth leads to human trafficking. Perpetrators can be parents and rich people, including women, even though they are generally seen as vulnerable people. 

Effects

Murder and suicides

The effects of human trafficking mentioned by youth include murder and suicides. In order to elaborate on this, involvement of illegal mining in South Africa was mentioned. It was indicated that those who made a fortune from illegal mining would lure unemployed youth to the mines and then force them to work and get paid less. Out of frustration, those who have been exploited then resort to killing their exploiters or commit suicide. Ribaneng area is indeed one of the hotspots of the killings influenced by human trafficking. Many young boys from this area work in illegal mines in South Africa and then these boys under the “famo” groups’ banner, kill each other perhaps because some would have been exploited and would therefore be committing such murders as revenge.

Drug and substance abuse

Another effect of human trafficking identified by youth is drug and substance abuse. It was explained that in some cases, youth resort to drug and substance abuse because of frustration of being exploited. It was cited that most of the boys working in illegal mining are either heavy smokers of marijuana or heavy drinkers of alcohol. Youth then believe that it is easier for these boys to kill other people while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They noted that it is not surprising to find a whole family murdered in relation to what could have happened at illegal mines in South Africa. The most important thing to note is that these murders are usually committed by people who use drugs or alcohol.

Unplanned pregnancy

Causes

Anti-contraceptives religious beliefs  

One of the causes of unplanned pregnancies in some areas is believed to be the use of religious beliefs to suppress or prohibit the use of contraceptives. Indeed, some participants indicated that unplanned pregnancies are sometimes caused by parents whose religious beliefs are against usage of contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies. These parents then “…do not allow their children to take or even talk about the contraceptives in the families.” It was discovered that sometimes parents only instruct their children not to fall pregnant without explaining how youth should avoid this. One participant said, “sometimes parents only say ‘do not make a baby’ but they do not tell us what we should do to avoid having babies.” Therefore, religious beliefs in this case, are believed to contribute to unplanned pregnancies amongst youth in some studied areas since these beliefs make sex and sexuality taboo subjects.

Effects  

Depression and suicides

Some of the effects the participants cited as by-products of unplanned pregnancies are depression and suicide. The observation of the youth is that upon discovering that one is pregnant, stress caused by the fear of the huge responsibility of raising a child without any income and suicidal thoughts come to the fore. Some of the participants added that the thought of the parents’ disappointment, gossip by friends and community and the shame leads to high incidence of depression and suicide amongst the youth after unplanned pregnancies. Such pressure might even come from churches where youth are subjected to scolding and being judged as bad examples.  Therefore, youth believe that depression and suicide are the result of feeling helpless due to unplanned pregnancies.

Unsafe abortions, death and imprisonment 

Participants also mentioned that unplanned pregnancies lead to youth committing unsafe abortions and eventually dying. They noted that because of helplessness, it is easy to opt for abortion because the labor pills are easily accessible in the streets and through social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. However, the participants were aware that unsafe abortions lead to death because these are done in secret places without the help of key people such as health professionals. In such cases many are only saved from death by being rushed to the hospital for proper treatment. One gave an example of a high school girl who committed abortion but was saved by friends who found her in a pool of blood and rushed her to a nearby hospital. Some of the participants were aware that in Lesotho abortion is a crime and that those who try it are imprisoned if it is discovered they are no longer pregnant or if their dead fetus is discovered.   

Poverty, prostitution and crime

For some participants, unplanned pregnancy leads to poverty and eventually crime. One participant explained that “once the child is born, some girls are disowned by the parents and then have to fend for themselves, which is extremely difficult when one cannot get a job.” Some even noted that they know of some girls who run away from their families to try to provide for themselves and their babies but then become poverty-stricken after failing to get jobs. Other participants observed that “unplanned pregnancy causes poverty because unplanned members are added to families.” The participants then admitted that because of poverty, some youth particularly girls are forced into prostitution while others get involved in criminal activities “to sustain their living.” 

Teenage pregnancy:

Causes

Communication and unsafe sex

The majority of the participants believe lack of or poor communication between parents and children about sex and relationships related issues, including SRHR issues, contribute to teenage pregnancies. Indeed, some noted that there is no “…communication between parents and children about issues such as puberty and human anatomy and what to expect” at each stage. In explaining this, one of the participants said “…parents are not having conversations with their children about sex – they are just dictating…and the space they have in the so-called “conversations” is not safe for their children to sincerely open up about their experiences.” Another participant added to this by saying: “Parents do not openly talk about sex and even we as youth are shy to talk about it.” This then implies that sex is still a taboo subject among Basotho; something not to discuss with children.

Some participants are of the opinion that this lack of or poor communication between parents and youth is a result of uncertainty about the starting point when discussing sex related issues or that their children might disrespect them.

Peer pressure, role models and unsafe sex  

Another most notable cause of teenage pregnancy, according to the views of the youth, is peer pressure. Some participants believe that the teenage stage is characterized by lack of confidence and low self-esteem in decision-making which leads to many teens being easily pressured to get into sex and, unfortunately, often become pregnant. Indeed, one participant said: “Boys impregnate us because as girls we do not have the power to negotiate the use of condoms during sex.”  One participant then further explained that “friends influence us to use alcohol and sex” while often those who have experienced sex before others persuade those who have not yet experienced it. So, in order to feel a sense of belonging to the group one would have to have sex like others. 

“In many instances you will find that the one who has tried it would then influence others to try it too and this is further complicated by the fact that we no longer listen to our parents,” explained one participant. Another participant explained further: “Some girls make conversations about their sexual experiences which makes others to feel uncomfortable about being virgins and not having sex. In the end this pressurizes them to try to fit in by being engaged in sexual talk and eventually into sex.” Apart from that, some copy the “role models” when getting into sexual activities. In order to explain this, the participants then gave examples of people they know who practice unsafe sex by modelling other children who were engaged in it before them. One participant even mentioned that “teenagers are copycats; they tend to copy the acts of others and end up falling pregnant.”

Social media, internet and unsafe sex 

In some cases, youth believed that access to cell phones, social media and the internet contributes to teenage pregnancy. Access to these things gives access to porn and information about sex which then entices youth to try sex. One participant said: “We are exposed to sex content very early in our teens. So, because this is an ‘experimental stage’, some of us are easily tempted to try it out.” Another participant added, “Social media presence makes young people to be eager to explore.” One of them further explained this issue by saying, “Youth misuse social media and now that they have access to the internet, they in turn have access to pornography. They watch pornographic videos and then put what they saw on the internet into practice.” It becomes evident that access to phones and social media brings to the fore the information that parents know but do not discuss it with their children so it becomes easier for youth to then want to explore. 

Poverty and unsafe sex

Poverty is also cited as one of the causes of teenage pregnancy by youth in the studied area. One participant said: “Rich men take advantage of poor children to engage in sex with them.” In one area, participants reported that a 15-year-old girl fell pregnant and her friends also fell pregnant. When asked about this issue, they cited poverty as one of the reasons that made them fall pregnant. This is reflected in the opinions of youth with regards to dating broke partners where many of them said they will not date poor partners even though some said they had previously dated them. 

One participant in this case said: “I dated a broke partner some years back but now I cannot therefore even though I cannot have unprotected sex without knowing the HIV/AIDS status.” Another simply indicated that he will not date a broke partner because he has a strong sense of ownership and he wants to avoid disrespecting his partner by telling her that it is his money during arguments about how to spend money. The other said: “I cannot date a broke person. The one who is financially well-off might be adulterous but will normally give me money to spend.” 

Even though poverty influences youth to engage in unprotected sex with financially secure partners, there are some who are ready to date broke partners for a number of reasons. In order to strengthen this, one participant said: “I am already broke, so I do not mind dating a broke partner but she/he must be willing to get out of such a situation because I am sure I will not be broke forever,” Another participant with experience of dating both poor and well-off partners said: “I do not prefer a well-off partner, but I can date a poor one who has a vision to get out of poverty one day together with me. I do not like a financially readymade partner.” This shows that there are youth who are ready to face the challenges of poverty and resist getting into relationships that might involve being engaged in unprotected sex which can lead to teenage pregnancy.    

Effects

Illegal abortions and death

One of the effects of teenage pregnancy, according to the youth, is committing illegal abortions. One of the participants said: “Normally, when girls notice that they are pregnant, they conduct unsafe abortion and then sometimes die.” On the basis to this opinion, it then becomes clear that the effect of teenage pregnancy does not end with abortion because “abortion can then lead to death after losing a lot of blood” according to the explanation by another participant. The implication is that girls upon discovering that they are pregnant and faced with disappointed parents and stigmatization by the community, commonly commit illegal abortions which may lead to some losing their lives. 

School drop-outs

Participants then maintained that teenage pregnancy leads to school dropouts. However, some participants further noted that while girls drop out of the school, boys continue attending school. One participant explained this by stating: “When a girl drops out of school, a male child continues his classes as usual.” Another participant added, “sometimes girls are expelled from schools, particularly those owned by the church, while the boys continue attending classes.” Sometimes youth drop out of school “because they must go and take care of their families”, explained one participant. The implication gathered from this is that more girls drop out of school due to teenage pregnancy than boys because when girls drop out to take care of their babies or are expelled, boys continue attending school. 

 Child marriages

For other participants, teenage pregnancy causes child marriages. This is because some parents disown their children after discovering that they are pregnant or have impregnated a girl. Indeed, one participant said: “I know one boy who was forced to marry because the girl was expelled from her home.” Yet another participant agreed that this issue of forced child marriages because of teenage pregnancy is real and sad. She explained that “there is nothing more painful than being disowned by your own blood, especially a mother” which reflects how traditional and religious parents can be in treating cases of teenage pregnancy. This implies that child marriages due to teenage pregnancy are not even pleasurable because children are forced into something that even youth consider to be serious and delicate. It is for this reason that one of the participants advised youth to be “…careful about being engaged in a thorny and cursed destination” called child marriage.  

STIs and HIV/AIDS infection

Many youths believe that teenage pregnancy and infection by STIs and HIV/AIDS go hand in hand due to the unprotected sex involved. In explaining this, one of the participants said: “…pregnancy is the result of engaging into unprotected sex. Engaging in unprotected sex may result in HIV and other STI infections.” Another participant, using an example of the person known by the group in one area of study, said: “Someone I knew realized that she was HIV positive and that she got it from her mother who died of AIDS. She later got a boyfriend whom she told to use condom when they had sex, but he refused.” This implies that pregnancy does not necessarily directly lead to being infected by STIs and HIV/AIDS. Instead, it is unprotected sex which leads to both pregnancy and infection by diseases. Therefore, unprotected sex exposes one to teenage pregnancy along with the above-mentioned diseases. 

Sexual abuse: 

Causes

Sexual offense laws and dress codes 

Sexual felonies may take different forms such as exploitation of under-age orphans or forcing children to get into sex for money. However, one of the major causes of sexual abuse cited by youth is lack of knowledge about sexual offense laws. Many youth indicated this by stating that

“girls are sexually harassed because of the way they sometimes dress.” This implies that anyone who does not know that women have freedom to dress in ways they see fit would be harassing teenage girls just because they dressed in a way that they deem “too revealing”. This is reflected in the actions of teenagers after they have gone to initiation school as per the observation of some participants. One participant observed that “after initiation, boys normally become rebels; they start to rape, elope and steal.” It is evident that at this stage they are ignorant of laws that govern sexual offenses because, according to the observation of one participant, “they go to initiation school at early ages because of peer pressure.” 

Drugs and substance abuse

Again, participants believed that sexual abuse is sometimes caused by drugs and substance abuse.

Indeed, one participant said: “This is caused by abuse of alcohol and substances.” Apart from that, another participant said that “because of peer pressure, some youngsters abuse drugs and alcohol and then end up having sex with older people.” This shows that the use of drugs and alcohol contributes to making poor decisions. In cases of sexual abuse older individuals are expected to know better and avoid getting into sexual activities with intoxicated partners, but they do so nonetheless. In-fact this is a norm in Lesotho. It is within a context like this that one of the participants said: “The abuse of drugs by youth also increases abuse of females by males and raises risk of girls becoming victims of sexual exploitation.”

Child marriages

Another contributing factor to sexual abuse as explained by some participants is child marriage. One participant notes that “orphans and poverty-stricken girls opt for marriage as a means of survival.” It is in most of these cases where girls get married to older people, where the enequal power dynamic expresses itself in the form of violence. At other times, children are forced into marrying older men because their parents struggle financially. The same issue of statutory rape comes to the fore because having sex with a child is sexual abuse. One participant commented that “…parents’ ignorance about sexual offense and desperation to get out of poverty and improve their livelihoods makes them force their children into marriages which in turn leads to them being abused sexually.” It is in most cases that perpetrators are protected by the families or communities, as they are perceived as bread winners.

Effects 

Unplanned pregnancy

For many young people, sometimes unplanned pregnancies are the result of sexual abuse. This is because in some cases, those who abuse girls do not protect themselves and their victims during sex and therefore it is likely that the sexually abused or rape victim will fall pregnant. This implies that sexual violence may lead to unintended pregnancies because neither the perpetrator nor the victim is protected during sex. Participants reported that the victims are not likely to report sexual abuse and that eventually they may fall pregnant since contraceptives would not have been used to prevent unwanted pregnancies. One participant even observed that “if girls knew about their rights and remedies, they would not fall pregnant.”  

STIs and HIV/AIDS infections 

Many participants further noted that sexual abuse may lead to one being infected by sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS and STIs. This is based on the fact that in sexual violence, people do not practice safe sex and, as such, they may contract STIs and HIV/AIDS. Indeed, this can be seen from one participant’s opinion who said: “Services are far, so we do not know the reporting structures and we do not have access to health services.” The implication is that if the victims knew whom to report to when they are sexually abused by either their boyfriends or friends and then access contraceptives like morning after pills, unwanted pregnancies due to sexual abuse would be avoided.

Depression and trauma 

Sexual abuse leads to depression and trauma, according to some participants. Indeed, one noted that “Sexually abused people tend to have depression and withdrawal symptoms.” Another participant said she has not experienced it but believes “it might also lead to depression and low self-esteem.” This is because, according to the many participants, those sexually abused are afraid of humiliation and, as such, they do not tell anyone about it just after it has happened which then leads to them suffering from depression. Some even said it is difficult to report sexual abuse by boyfriends and friends because people might not believe them so they sometimes think it is normal to have sex without their consent being solicited, even though it is painful.

Child labor: 

Causes

Poverty and unemployment

The majority of participants believe that child labor is caused by poverty. Indeed, poverty-stricken parents tend to force their children to work so that the family can survive. One participant observed that “in some families where parents are alive but vulnerable, children tend to be forced into child labor and are used for social capital.” In most cases, boys are hired to be herd boys and shepherds while girls become domestic workers, according to the observation of some participants. This implies that when families cannot meet their basic needs like food, education or health care, they resort to sending their children to work to fend for the family or supplement the household’s income.

Limited Understanding of child labor

Participants further indicated that child labor is caused by lack of understanding of the dangers of child labor and the laws governing it. Some said, “if parents understood that they are exposing their children to injuries and exploitation by other people, they would not force them into child labor.” This implies that when families do not understand the dangers of child labor as well as the impact it has on the children’s health, safety, well-being and future, they will likely not force their children to work. Some participants further noted that lack of understanding of child labor is sometimes influenced by cultural beliefs and social norms where boys are believed to be trained to be future family providers while girls are believed to be trained to be the future mothers. “During the ploughing season, boys are normally working in the fields either for their parents or even for someone else”, explained one of the participants. 

Effects

Depression and isolation

Some participants believe that child labor causes depression and isolation. For instance, some said “boys are found herding cattle alone under strict instructions not to allow the animals they are herding to mix with others”. This then leads these boys to experience isolation and depression “which prevents them from continuing to develop healthy emotions as they grow which, in turn, might even result in them being abusive” said one participant. She further noted that they may not be able to socialize with other people. Therefore, this implies child labor affects the mental and social well-being of children, which is why they end up suffering from depression and isolation. This is because children who spend time working do not spend enough time with their peers or even their families and, as such, they may be depressed for they are isolated from everyone else. 

School dropouts

Many participants observed that child labor causes school dropouts. One participant said it is normal for boys who have been herding animals not to go back to school arguing that they feel  inferior to their peers since they are less educated. This is because after a certain time, their friends or classmates would be in advanced grades at school while they have to repeat classes so they tend to judge themselves to be less accomplished than their peers. Sometimes they feel they are too old to be attending school because they end up with much younger classmates, said some participants. 

Child marriage: 

Causes

Poverty, vulnerability and unemployment

Child marriages are, according to some participants, caused by poverty, vulnerability and unemployment. In one study area, one participant explained: “There are many orphans and child headed families in this area, which subjects them to poverty and vulnerability. So, some resort to marriage as a means of survival and they are also hired to look after livestock to earn a living.” However, in some cases the parents are extremely poverty-stricken so they are driven by vulnerability into desperation and “…they force children into marriages for social capital.” One of the participants explained that is unfortunate to force children into marriage as a way of solving poverty-related challenges because it will not solve the problem but just perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

Unwanted teenage pregnancies

Some participants observed that child marriages are caused by unplanned teenage pregnancies.

This is because some parents, due to their strict family management and religious beliefs, tend to disown their children thereby “…forcing them to get married to avoid facing humiliation from the public.” One of the participants explained this by saying that he “knows someone who had to marry because she was expelled from her religious family since her pregnancy was considered a sign that she is an evil person”. Another participant even said parents force their children to get married to avoid the responsibility of taking care of babies. This implies that there is lack of communication between parents and their children about sex issues otherwise they would not force them into marriages just because they are pregnant. That is why instead of supporting these children they tend to disown them.

Effects

Depression, domestic violence and death 

One of the effects of child marriages, according to the views of some of the participants, is depression. Some participants noted that children are exposed to family responsibilities at a very young age – around 15 years in some cases which then leads to them to suffering from depression.

One participant said about married teenagers: “They have depression because of the

responsibilities they have after being married. They drop out of school to look after families.” Apart from that, domestic violence is common in most of these marriages, perhaps due to depression and limited resources. That being the case, another participant said: “Most girls in such families are depressed and they do not report abuses that are happening in their families.” Other participants believed because of depression and abuses; some family members end up dying in these marriages. One of the participants had this to say: “Child marriages might lead to early parenthood which also leads to complications during child delivery…and deaths during maternity.”

Domestic violence: 

It is important to note that the law in Lesotho still does not recognize domestic violence, but instead recognizes all types of violence as sexual offence, according to the relevant law.

However, there is action being taken by various actors including civil society, to push through Parliament and National Assembly, a Domestic Violence Bill which will revolutionize interventions to stop domestic violence.

Causes

Depression, drug and substance abuse

Domestic violence is believed to be caused by drug and substance abuse, according to the views of some participants. To illustrate this, one participant told the community discussion forum about a family friend who raped a woman on New Year’s Eve. Alcohol was seen as a catalyst for his behavior even though charges were laid against him. From this incident it can be seen that although the community would want one to take responsibility for his or her actions, abuse of drugs and substances has a hand in some of the cases of domestic violence. Apart from that, depressed people are likely to abuse drugs and substances and, as such, they are likely to commit domestic violence.

Some respondents on the issue of child marriages believed that some young women experienced domestic abuse by their partners who abuse drugs and alcohol. 

Effects

Trauma, drug and substance abuse

Domestic violence as well as drug and substance abuse can cause trauma. One of the participants said: “Children can suffer from trauma and start to heavily abuse substance and drugs” because of domestic violence. After regularly witnessing how abusive parents treat each other, some children may be traumatized and then they themselves turn to abusing drugs and substances at a later stage of their lives. Even teenagers too can, as a result of domestic violence, be traumatized and start abusing drugs and alcohol. This could be noticed from the story of a raped teen on New Year’s Eve where, instead of reporting that she has been raped, the victim wanted to go and buy more beer to drown traumatic memories of the incident.  

RESULTS

This study was aimed at finding out the causes and effects of 7 SRHR related challenges, namely: human trafficking, unplanned pregnancies, teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, child labor, child marriages and domestic violence. On the basis of the thematically analyzed data, the information revealed the following with respect to each of the challenges:

• Human trafficking:

The root cause of human trafficking is poverty and unemployment. This is because desperation for money to improve one’s life makes one vulnerable rendering one an easy target for human traffickers. The victims are then left with anger which in extreme cases can lead to them killing the perpetrators or committing suicide. These victims can also end up abusing drugs and substances to try to cope with disappointment.

●Unplanned pregnancy

Unplanned pregnancies are caused by a number of things such as anti-contraceptive religious beliefs as some parents from certain religious persuasions might not allow their children to use contraceptives. Apart from that, unplanned pregnancies could be caused by lack of information about and access to contraceptives. Youth are not very knowledgeable about contraceptives due to issues like the places where they live: in some cases, they live too far from service providers to access either the information about them or the contraceptives themselves. Myths and stereotypes about contraceptives contribute to unplanned pregnancies as is the case in situations where youth believe that contraceptives may disfigure their bodies. Poverty and unemployment also contribute to youth falling pregnant without planning. Poverty forces them to enter into relationships with rich people who may willfully engage in unprotected sex with them since they wield more power in the relationship. 

Unplanned pregnancies often leave youth depressed with suicidal thoughts. Facing parents’ disappointments and stigmatization by the community makes them feel depressed. Sometimes, they opt for unsafe abortions which could even lead to death since unsafe abortions lead to heavy loss of blood. If it is discovered that one has committed an illegal abortion, one may even be imprisoned.

●Teenage pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy is caused by a number of factors, including poor or lack of communication between parents and their children where sex-related issues are still a taboo in all the studied communities and parents do not always talk about them. Those who communicate with youth lack good communication skills and courage to talk about sex while peer pressure, role modeling and unsafe sex also play an important part in teenage pregnancy. Indeed, in order to have a sense of belonging to the peers, teenagers end up engaging in unsafe sex which may then lead them to pregnancy. Sometimes, youth misuse social media and the internet by watching pornography. After watching these, youth may then want to practice some of the things they saw from such movies without protecting themselves during sex and eventually fall pregnant. Again, poverty contributes to teenage pregnancy since some of them date rich people in order to alleviate poverty. However, the problem is that they end up engaging in unsafe sex which could then lead to pregnancy.

Many youngsters, especially girls, are forced to carry out illegal abortions which may lead to death due to heavy loss of blood. They sometimes even drop out of schools even though boys continue attending classes in many cases. In the process of engaging in unsafe sex, youth do not only get pregnant or impregnate others but also contract STIs and HIV/AIDs.

●Sexual abuse

Causes of sexual abuse are many and varied, including lack of knowledge about sex offense laws. Boyfriends, friends and families lack this knowledge because they end up forcing girls into sex even though they might not be interested. Sometimes youth, especially girls, are abused because of the way they are dressed which shows that the perpetrators lack the said knowledge. Apart from that, sexual abuse occurs because of drug and substance abuse, especially during the festive seasons. Lastly, sexual abuse is also rife in child marriages. In such marriages, perpetrators are the older people and as such they commit statutory rape.

Those youth who find themselves abused sexually end up with unplanned pregnancies because they are usually subjected to unsafe sex. Again, due to unsafe sex, they may be infected by STIs and HIV/AIDS, leading to depression and trauma in some cases. Indeed, the victims are left depressed and traumatized for they were subjected to something they would not want under normal circumstances.

●Child labor

This is caused by poverty and unemployment. Because of poverty in their families, many youth find themselves being forced to work either to fend for their families or supplement the incomes of their families. In some cases, it was discovered that their families lack the understanding of child labor in the sense that they do not know its consequences and severity. In some cases, parents do not even know the laws that relate to child labor.

Children subjected to child labor suffer from depression and isolation because they spend less time with their peers and their families. Apart from that, child labor contributes to school dropouts, especially among boys. It was observed that such school dropouts end up having negative attitudes towards education and learning.

●Child marriages

One of the causes of child marriages is poverty and unemployment. Parents faced with severe poverty and unemployment sometimes force their children, particularly girls, into marriages for social capital. It was also discovered that in some cases child marriages are caused by unwanted pregnancies. Parents may disown children just because of being pregnant and then force them to marry or get married. 

Some of the effects of the child marriages include depression and domestic violence which may even result in death of some family members. It was found that teenage girls in these marriages are subjected to violence and may end up being depressed and eventually abuse drugs and substances. At the other times, child marriages lead to pregnancies which, in turn, may cause death during labor complications at birth.

• Domestic violence

It was discovered that domestic violence, unlike other SRHR challenges except sexual abuse, is caused by depression, drug and substance abuse. Depressed youth are likely to abuse drugs and alcohol thereby committing domestic violence by abusing others through sexual abuse, among others. Those who are victims of domestic violence or have witnessed it may end up also being depressed and eventually abuse drugs and substances. Indeed, it was discovered children who witnessed it can be like these. The same was found among the victims too.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Conclusions about the causes and effects of SRHR challenges

On the basis of the results of this study, the following conclusions have been made about the causes and effects of the SRHR challenges as identified by the youth:

• Human trafficking is caused by poverty and unemployment. This challenge the leads to murder and suicides as well as drug and substance abuse by the victims of human trafficking.

• Unplanned pregnancy is caused by anti-contraceptives religious beliefs; lack of information about and access to contraceptives; myths and stereotypes about contraceptives; as well as poverty and unemployment. The effects of this challenge include depression, suicide, unsafe abortions, death and imprisonment as well as prostitution and crime.
• Teenage pregnancy is caused by poor or lack of communication between parents and children; peer pressure, role modeling and unsafe sex; misuse of social media and unsafe sex; and, poverty.
• Sexual abuse, on the other hand, is caused by lack of knowledge of sexual offense laws and dress codes; drugs and substance abuse; and, child marriages. The effects of sexual abuse include unplanned pregnancies, STIs and HIV/AIDS infection, and depression and trauma.
• Child labor is caused by poverty and unemployment as well as lack of understanding of child labor. Its effects include depression, isolation and school dropouts.
• Child marriage is fueled by poverty, vulnerability and unemployment and unwanted teenage pregnancy. Its effects include depression, domestic violence and death.
• Lastly, domestic violence is caused by depression, drug and substance abuse and its effects are trauma, drugs and substance abuse.

Recommendations

● Recommendations to the stakeholders  

On the basis of the challenges’ causes and effects, the following are recommendations to the stakeholders and service providers:

• Human trafficking: Stakeholders and service providers are recommended to establish comprehensive policy networks management organs to avoid duplication of programs. Human trafficking campaigns and advocacy should be intensified and paired with projects/business start-ups. This will ensure that youth are settled and not vulnerable or desperate for cash to improve their livelihoods.
• Unplanned pregnancy: It is recommended that government, stakeholders and service providers develop and enact of laws aimed at enabling youth to access contraceptives with ease and be able to terminate pregnancies with ease. This will assist in reducing the number of illegal abortions and resultant deaths. It is also recommended that NGOs distributing contraceptives should make these contraceptives readily available in villages through contact persons directly answerable to them to ensure that youth avoid humiliation from nurses and other healthcare professionals. Nurses should be intensively trained about healthcare ethics and laws and monitored to ensure that they adhere to them and improve their attitude towards female youth.
• Teenage pregnancy: Termination of pregnancy laws, child protection laws and health laws should be amended in such a way that they are interlinked to protect youths’ lives. Apart from that, comprehensive education campaigns about the use and access to contraceptives should be established to improve youths’ knowledge and use of these contraceptives. It is also recommended that surgical procedures for men should be explored to avoid unplanned and teenage pregnancies. Oral sex condoms should be made available to protect youth not only from pregnancy but also STIs.
• Sexual abuse: It is recommended that all the stakeholders and service providers should develop a joint campaign to educate youth about their rights while parents are educated about the laws that protect their children’s rights. Decisive action and harsher sentences should be taken against perpetrators to deter youth sexual abuse.
• Child labor: While there are already other stakeholders involved in ensuring that child labor is reduced around the world in general and in Lesotho in particular; intensified parental education about consequences of child labor is needed, especially in rural places where the incidence is high. Parents should also be trained about child protection laws to intensify the understanding of their responsibilities in relation to children protection. Child labor should be criminalized too to deter parents from forcing their children into it because it has been recorded to have a serious impact on the health and well-being of children. Parents should be assisted with small business startups in order to alleviate their families from poverty which would, in turn, reduce child labor.
• Child marriages: With regard to this issue, it is recommended that a law must be enacted to govern and guide child marriages because the current legal frameworks (The Child Protection Act and Marriage Act) do not address this issue. For example, a 16-year-old is allowed to marry an 18-year-old. Child marriages should be criminalized and such measures should be accompanied by harsh sentences to abolish them because they subject girls to sexual abuse, human trafficking, teenage pregnancies and domestic violence which when combined extremely undermine physical and psychological well-being of girls.
• Domestic violence: While much of the attention is on girls because they are the most vulnerable and affected by domestic violence, young men should be assisted and empowered too to ensure that they are not neglected. Civil societies should play a leading role in youth and parental empowerment with specific projects-based strategies to eradicate domestic violence. Youth including women and girls should be included in awareness and advocacy for the enactment of progressive laws like the Draft Domestic Violence Bill. Empowering them to participate in such forums equips them with information to become agents of change in their communities.

Recommendations for further research

• This report has been designed as a tool to be used by youth, women and girls for awareness and advocacy purposes. Therefore, there is need for a more technical nationwide survey to be utilized by stakeholders including government and service providers in order to have a comprehensive understanding of the extent to which each of these SRHR challenges is affecting youth in Lesotho.
• There is need for an exploratory study to understand the connection between work and education so that programs to develop skilled youth are linked to their future needs and goals.
• A nationwide study is needed to investigate the need and nature of business startups that can eradicate poverty which seems to influence or be influenced by the majority of the SRHR challenges.

This report is for the youth, women and girls in Lesotho, who have a desire to become positive agents for change in their communities. This is your tool for engaging in deeper conversations with your peers, partners, parents, communities, service providers and other stakeholders. Special thanks to the brave young activists; Mantsoboi Motloakoa, Kannanelo Mokole, Pokane Mokhooa, Lynda Phahle, Reabetsoe Salae, Tsoanelo Motsoane, Itumeleng Mokoatsi, Molemo Maphasa, Dingane Mohapi, Matseliso Motsoloane and Liengoane Malefane.

“Our lives begin to end when we become silent about the things that matter” Martin Luther king

Sesotho Media & Development

Sesotho Media & Development (SM&D – www.sesothomedia.org) is a non-governmental organization, registered in Lesotho, no. 26188 under the Friendly Societies Act, on the 13th July 2000. The main funder for the organisation is Bread for the World (BftW).

SM&D is a member of the STEPS Regional network (https://www.stepsforthefuture.co.za/about/), active in over 7 southern Africa countries. In this network, technical capacities, experiences and best practises in films for development, are exchanged and leveraged, to help members become more effective in their respective countries.

SM&D’s work is based on the belief that communication processes including marginalized and vulnerable groups can reduce stigma and discrimination, provide information and lead to positive change. SM&D uses the methodology of facilitated film screenings as a tool to create open dialogues about issues, which affect people’s lives.

SM&D’S vision is to be a leading organisation that uses power of film to engage marginalised audiences on issues of social change and to contribute towards sustainable development in Lesotho.

SM&D’s mission is to promote the use of facilitated film screenings as a tool for creating and intensifying dialogues and dissemination of information to enable the marginalized to make informed decisions about their lives and become agents of change through Community Screenings (mobile cinema unit), Resource Centre, Annual Film Festival, training and mentorship of facilitators.

SM&D has been currently targeting youth, young women and girls on the following issues:

• Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in all forms
• Sexuality and health with focus on HIV and AIDS and underage pregnancy
• Gender identity and sexual orientation (LGBTI)
• Youth inclusion in decision-making
• Human Trafficking

 Contacts

This report was produced by The Consultant Africa (pty) ltd in Association with Sesotho Media & Development