Youths are deprived of information and services related to sexual or reproductive health.

These issues are considered taboo due to social, cultural or religious norms in the developing and middle-income countries, speakers discussed on the third day of the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP), held at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre in Indonesia.

Youths, the leaders of tomorrow, demanding family planning methods, are seen as unethical or illegal, which also violates their rights, speakers emphasised.

Speaking about sex, condoms or menstrual hygiene among the adolescents in Bangladesh is almost a taboo, Rokonol Rabbi, a young leader from Bangladesh told The Daily Star.

"It is vital to include them in family planning education, otherwise it leads to deprivation and isolation, which causes psychological, physical and even economic losses," he added.

Ayesha Memon, a young leader of Pakistan who conducted research on impacts of cultural barriers in rural Pakistan, said at a press conference, "The society is very much patriarchal. Decisions are taken by men, which leads to their preference for baby boys."

For one baby boy, a couple is taking seven to eight children, who are left uneducated and unhealthy, she said, explaining how lack of sexual and reproductive knowledge leads to social and economic problems.

"Parents do not allow girls to talk about sex, but they allow ten-year-old girls to marry men," she said, adding that sometimes teenage girls are forced into prostitution.

Experts said pre-marital sex among youths, even in the developing nations, is a reality, while unsafe sex caused by information gap on reproductive health leads to early marriage, unintended pregnancy and diseases like HIV/AIDS. 

"The issue of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights is fundamentally interlaced with intersectional issues of social justice, finance and poverty alleviation," said Nomtika Mjwana, a young leader from South Africa.

It is essential to look at strategies that can inform and educate young girls and empower them to see themselves as proud women, not as objects, she said.

At the conference, more than 40 leading global health organisations committed to a new global consensus statement, to expand contraceptive choices for young people.

"This is our way of calling on the national governments, civil society, and local communities to ensure that long-acting reversible contraceptives are available and accessible to sexually active adolescents and youths, without barriers or bias," said Dr Purnima Mane, CEO of Pathfinder International.

According to the Pathfinder, a significant number of the world's 1.8 billion adolescents and youths are sexually active and want to prevent or delay a pregnancy for multiple years.

Katja Iversen, CEO of New York-based charity Women Deliver, said the youths need to be brought to the policymaking tables. "Otherwise, they would be on the menu," she warned.