Office of the Ombudsman, Samoa‘s National Human Rights Institution Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child – September 2015 dangers of early pregnancy, the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI‘s), including HIV/AIDS.32 50. In a 2012 attitudinal survey carried out in primary and secondary schools focusing on principals, teachers, parents, and students, the majority supported CSE but emphasised the need for teachers to be well trained and equipped with educational materials.33 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)‘s Operational Guidance for CSE provides an excellent framework which the Government should consider adopting to guide the inclusion of CSE in the school curriculum. Recommendation 7: That the Samoan Government to engage with UN partners to implement CSE in accordance with UNFPA’s Operational Guidance in order to empower young people to protect their health, wellbeing and dignity. 8.2 Access to contraception 51. According to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Samoa has the highest prevalence of STIs in the Pacific Region coupled with one of the lowest CPRs.34 The Second Generation Surveillance Survey 2008— corroborated by Samoa‘s Demographic Health Survey 2009—revealed an extremely high prevalence of chlamydia, particularly for youth under 25 at 71%.35 Commendably, the Government provides treatment for STIs free of charge at public clinics. However, due to the taboo nature of the issue and the harsh judgment by health professionals (particularly towards youth), use of such services are not widely used by Samoa‘s adolescent youth. 52. Access to contraception in Samoa is inhibited by cultural and religious views regarding extra-marital sex. Samoa‘s contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) is 17.8% for any contraceptive method among currently married women aged 15 to 49.36 Condom use rates in Samoa are generally low, mostly due to the lack of awareness and access, as well as a lack of acceptance of condom use 32 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), General comment No. 4 (2003): Adolescent Health and Development in the Context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1 July 2003, CRC/GC/2003/4, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4538834f0.html [accessed 31 August 2015] at para 28; See also United Nations General Assembly, Key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, A/RES/S-21, 8 Nov. 1999, para. 35(b). 33 UNESCO, Attitudinal Survey Report on the delivery of HIV and Sexuality Reproductive Health Education, UNESCO Apia Office for Pacific States, at 23. 34 See e.g. SPC, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Right in the Pacific, (2015) available at: file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/SRHR_manual_FINAL30May2015.pdf. 35 Ministry Of Health and Samoa Bureau of Statistics, Demographic and Health SurveyS Final Report 2009, available at: http://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-fr240-dhs-final-reports.cfm [accessed 5 June 2015]. 36 Ministry of Health and Samoa Bureau of Statistics, Demographic and Health Survey Final Report 2009, available at: http://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-fr240-dhs-final-reports.cfm [accessed 5 June 2015]. NB: in Samoa CPR is only measured for married women. 16