>>Available in Word and PDF Young Adolescents' Sexual and
Reproductive Health and Rights: South and Southeast Asia
International agreements affirm that adolescents have a right to
age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information,
education, and services that enable them to deal in a positive
and responsible way with their sexuality.1 Programs and policies
are typically designed for older adolescents, however. This
brief—part of the International Women’s Health Coalition’s
series on young adolescents—uses evidence on their sexual and
reproductive knowledge and behaviors to argue for more
responsive policies and programs in South and Southeast Asia as
well as globally.* We define all boys and girls between the ages
of 10 and 14 as young adolescents. The countries of South and
Southeast Asia encompass a richly layered mix of cultures,
religions, languages, racial and ethnic groups, and economic and
political systems. Although South and Southeast Asia are very
different settings with regard to many aspe