Secure Girls' Talk
The Secure Girls Talk (SGT) is a platform used to engage women of reproductive age to educate them on matters related to their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Family Planning.
The SGT is designed to be a woman only event set up in a talk show format where 2 experts; a family planning expert and a psychologist as well as a facilitator who moderates the discussion of issues related to Family Planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health. The programme was developed using the social and behavioural change communication theories of Planned Behaviour and Stages of Life.
The Secure Girls Talk Series
Relationship Challenges
The innovation introduced in the SGT is the involvement of a psychologist whose focus is on dealing with “relationship challenges” which invariably influences women to use contraception to either avoid an unintended pregnancy or an STI. The family planning expert on the other hand focuses on the discussion of the FP methods as well as dealing with the myths and misconceptions that these women have about Family Planning.
Counselling Sessions
In most occasions after the event, the 2-resource people end up conducting one on one counselling sessions with the women who want further information on the methods or want to find solutions to their “personal relationship issues”.
Another variation of the Secure Girls’ Talk is the Secure Women’s Talk. The Secure Girls Talk is targeted at younger and more educated women in tertiary institutions (18-25 years) and the Secure Women’s Talk is targeted at women in rural communities (18-45years).
In executing the talk at the community level, the focus is on addressing the myths and misconceptions of contraceptive use in addition to the discussion on how contraception can be used for the spacing/limiting of children to benefit the health status of both the mother and children.
For the younger and more educated demographic, the focus is on choice and the encouragement to delay pregnancy. For them, the message is that Family Planning is “Future Planning”.
