ProJeunes (Preventing Child, Early, and Forced Marriage in Benin)

  • P Project/Program

I Inactive

Key Information

Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Benin has a young population, with 48% of the population under 15 years old. These young people, particularly adolescent girls, face significant challenges related to sexual and reproductive health. Thirty-seven percent of women are married before the age of 18 and 20% of 15-19-year-old girls have given birth at least once. ProJeunes works to increase the accessibility of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and to enhance protection of the rights of adolescent girls through psychosocial support and strengthened government and civil society policies that respond to CEFM, gender-based violence, and adolescent SRHR. The project includes the following activities: SRHR education for adolescents - training teachers and peer educators to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education to boys' and girls' youth clubs (for in school and out of school adolescents). Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services - training health care workers to provide adolescent and youth-friendly SRH services, conducting supportive supervision visits to health facility staff, providing monitoring and evaluation tools to improve data and quality analysis, and rehabilitating and equipping health facilities to make them more adolescent and youth-friendly. Psycho-social support to CEFM survivors - delivering psychosocial support through social promotion centers, training social workers, and developing a standard operating procedure for the provision of this support. Promotion of adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive rights - conducting community dialogues for adolescents, boys and girls, and young women and men using CARE's Social Analysis and Action approach to reflect on gender dynamics and generate ideas to improve access to SRH information and services. Advocacy and governance - providing evidence-based recommendations and policy options to the Government of Benin on how to strengthen adolescent SRH services and protect adolescent girls from CEFM; using CARE's Community Score Card process to bring together community members with health facility and social promotion center staff; developing youth-led advocacy initiatives through training, mentorship, and financial support.


Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Benin

Government Affiliation

Government-affiliated program

Years

2018 - 2021

Partner(s)

Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

Funder(s)

Government of Canada

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Other skills

  • Life skills/sexuality education

Cross-cutting areas

  • Early/child marriage
  • Masculinities/boys
  • Other aspects of sexual and reproductive health

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Boys (both in school and out of school), Girls (both in school and out of school), Youth

Age

Not applicable or unknown

School Enrolment Status

Not applicable or unknown

School Level

Not applicable or unknown

Other populations reached

Not applicable or unknown

Participants include

Not applicable or unknown

Program Approaches Back to Top

Health and childcare services

  • Adolescent-friendly health services
  • Sexual and reproductive health services (including family planning)

Life skills education

  • Sexual and reproductive health (including puberty education)

Other

  • Coordinated Action
  • Other activities to end child marriage (not captured above)

Policy/legal environment

  • Advocating changes to existing laws/policies
  • Developing/promoting new laws/policies
  • Raising awareness about existing laws/policies

School-related gender-based violence

  • Support in and around schools (e.g. peer counseling, adult-to-student counseling)

Social/gender norms change

  • Group activities with students or school-age children/adolescents

Women's empowerment programs

  • Advocacy/action
  • Empowerment training

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved sexual and reproductive health
  • Improved understanding of sexual harassment, coercion, and consent
  • Increased advocacy/civic engagement
  • Increased agency and empowerment
  • Increased knowledge of HIV, puberty, and sexual and reproductive health
  • Increased knowledge of rights
  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms
  • Reduced child marriage