Hesitating at the Door: Youth-led research on realising sexual rights informing organisational appraoches

This chapter will consider methodological issues confronted in the youth-led aspect of participatory research that was carried out for International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in Benin, Kenya, Nepal and Nicaragua. Photo narratives were used by young peer educators to tell stories about being young in different cultural contexts, and what helped and hindered them to realise their sexual rights. Young people were supported to analysis their evidence and present recommendations to realise their sexual rights to local decision-makers. Presentations by young researchers in the four country cases was analysed alongside the interviews conducted by a team from Panos London and the University of Brighton. The chapter addresses questions around interdisciplinary collaboration and conversation as the youth led research was taken to national, regional and global levels and informed a process of reconceptualising youth programming in sexual rights. Building on Johnson’s change-scape framework, the research informed a youth centred approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights across IPPF and Member Associations. This socio-ecological framework places young people’s identities, inclusion and interest at the core of developing services and programming. It includes young people’s priorities to find safe spaces in which to interact with each other and access services, to work with adults, religious leaders and service providers in the community, and to influence policies and laws that affect their health and rights. It builds on IPPF’s strategies of youth friendly services, advocacy and comprehensive sexuality education.