>>Available in Word and PDF >>Also available in Portuguese and
Spanish Young Adolescents' Sexual and Reproductive Health and
Rights: Latin America and the Caribbean International agreements
affirm that adolescents have a right to age-appropriate sexual
and reproductive health information, education, and services
that enable them to deal positively and responsibly 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
Latin America and the Caribbean, and globally.* We define all
boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 14 as young
adolescents. In Latin America and the Caribbean, sexual cultures
range from permissive to conservative and vary by gender, socio-
economic status, race, ethnicity, location, and other factors.
For some adolescents, dating and