Youth Incentives, the international programme on sexuality developed by the Dutch expert centre on sexuality, Rutgers Nisso Groep, promotes the Dutch approach to the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of young people. Core elements of this approach are represented in the RAP-rule, which stands for "Rights-based approach, Acceptance of young people's sexuality, and Participation of young people". This version of the RAP-tool is the result of experiences from pilot countries: Bangladesh, Eritrea, Rwanda and Tanzania. The RAP-tool is a needs assessment instrument guided by the RAP-rule. The main objective is getting to know the SRH and rights needs of young people in a specific community. This tool will help intermediaries, policymakers and young people themselves to check if elements of the RAP-rule are considered in the development and execution of projects and activities. The RAP-tool uses qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data on key SRH indicators in order to gain a better understanding of how SRH is experienced by young people and to identify unmet SRH needs and rights. The use of this instrument is flexible and can be adapted to different social and cultural contexts. The purpose of the tool is to systematically gather information on the SRH of young people in a given community or region, and to inform the development and implementation of projects and activities to address the SRH needs and rights of young people. The RAP-tool consists of four components: 1. Youth questionnaire: Questionnaire for respondents from 12 to 24 years of age. 2. Expert interview guide: A semi-structured interview guide for use with individuals working in the field of SRH. 3. Parent interview guide: A semi-structured interview guide to gather input from parents of young people from 12 to 24 years of age. 4. Group discussion guide: A guide for facilitating group discussions with young people, experts and parents to generate feedback on the data collected from the youth questionnaire and qualitative interviews. The RAP-tool also explains the needs assessment process: preparation and administration of the data.
Health and Education Resource Centre