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Contraception and sexual rights of adolescents

  • Topic

In Colombia an adolescent may ask for contraceptive counselling and methods without their parents, with confidentiality.

Updated

What it is

Adolescents have sexual and reproductive rights of their own. In Colombia, Resolution 3280 of 2018 states that adolescents may attend the family planning consultation alone or with a companion if they prefer, in a place that guarantees privacy, and that methods are supplied confidentially. If the patient is under 14 and has started sexual relations, she is counselled, the method is started and the sexual violence pathway is activated, without limiting care. The ethical debate sets the parents' role against the adolescent's confidentiality: public health evidence shows that requiring parental permission keeps many young people away from services. This page expands on the page on consent in minors.

Structure

  • Evolving autonomy: the more mature the adolescent, the more weight their decision carries (Law 1098 of 2006, arts. 3 and 26).
  • Confidentiality: it is the condition for many adolescents to seek care; breaking it without cause may lead them not to protect themselves.
  • The family's role: the adolescent is invited to involve their parents, but care is not made conditional on it.
  • Protection: below age 14 criminal law presumes there is no valid consent to sexual activity, and the duty to activate the protection pathway arises.
  • Positions in the debate: some put first the parents' authority over sex education; others, the adolescent's direct access to prevent pregnancy and infections.

In clinical practice

  • Offer the adolescent time alone during part of the consultation and explain at the start what is confidential and what the limits are.
  • Use non-judgemental language and ask about consent in relationships, coercion or violence.
  • If the adolescent is under 14, start the method they need and activate the sexual violence pathway; the report does not hold up care.
  • Advise condom use together with another method to prevent sexually transmitted infections.
  • Record the counselling, the method chosen and, where required, the written consent.
  • Ministry of Health Resolution 3280 of 2018, technical annex, section 13 (family planning and contraception): 13.4 (provided by nursing, general practice, family medicine or gynaecology), 13.5 (adolescents, privacy, under 14s), 13.6 (written consent).
  • Law 1098 of 2006, arts. 3 and 26. Law 1412 of 2010, art. 7 (ban on surgical contraception in minors, upheld in ruling C-131 of 2014).
  • Law 599 of 2000 (Criminal Code), arts. 208 and 209 (sexual activity with a person under 14).
  • Texts checked on 2026-11-13 in the National Health Superintendency's official compilation and in Jurinfo, the official legal compilation of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace.

Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

May an adolescent attend a contraception consultation alone in Colombia?

Yes. Resolution 3280 of 2018 says adolescents may attend alone or with a companion, if they prefer.

What is done if a 13-year-old girl asks for contraception because she is sexually active?

She is counselled, the method is started and the sexual violence pathway is activated with a report to the authorities, without limiting care.

Which methods require written informed consent under Resolution 3280?

Subdermal implants, intrauterine devices and surgical sterilisation.

Why is confidentiality central to contraceptive care for adolescents?

Because requiring parental permission or presence keeps many adolescents away from services and raises the risk of pregnancy and infections.

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Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal.

Sources: Resolución 3280 de 2018, rutas de promoción y mantenimiento de la salud y materno perinatal (Superintendencia Nacional de Salud, Normograma, 2018); Ley 1098 de 2006, Código de la Infancia y la Adolescencia (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2006); Ley 1412 de 2010 (texto compilado) (Superintendencia Nacional de Salud, Normograma, 2010).

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