Many years ago a few friends and I, all of us around the age of fifteen or sixteen, sat in the canteen of our local youth club and discussed ‘sex outside of marriage’. We each of us thought that it wasn’t for us but for different reasons. For some the fear of an unwanted pregnancy was the reason, for others the thought that their parents would be devastated by a pregnancy was the motivation to abstain and yet again for the rest the moral issue was the outstanding reason; we felt that it was wrong. At that time births to girls under the age of 15 in England and Wales averaged 45 a year. I wonder if such a discussion were to take place today what would be the outcome. With the advent of the Pill the fear of unwanted pregnancies has almost been eradicated, so that reason for sexual abstinence until marriage has been removed. The Pill has given women the freedom to choose. Despite this the teenage pregnancy rates in the U.K. are reportedly the second highest in the world and the highest in Europe. One statistic shows that up to 56,000 babies are born every year with a big majority of these born to girls under 16 and a high number to girls under 14. This supposedly does not include those babies that were aborted. Aside from the obvious health risks associated with pregnancy at such a young age, the emotional trauma for the families can be devastating. Amongst the problems highlighted in data collected during the 1990’s are: high infant mortality, domestic violence, parenting problems and sexually transmitted diseases. Problems for the teenage mothers can also lead to social exclusion, finding themselves ‘on the margins of society’, their education and social development suffer and this can lead to psychological problems, especially if the background support is negligible. If they do not complete their education they will have greater difficulty finding employment and the downward spiral will continue. The government’s Social Exclusion Unit’s and schemes such as Sure Start Plus are working with young people to try to reduce the numbers of teenage pregnancies which will hopefully reduce the risks of social exclusion. These agencies are also targeting young men and boys for the same reasons. It would seem that the cavalier attitudes towards sex and conception are taking their toll. Personal problems such as chronic sexual diseases, infertility, depression and abortion are the results of a chaotic lifestyle. Nowadays intimacy is seen in many cases as the culmination of a night out and need not necessarily take place in the context of a loving enduring relationship which is the basis of a strong family unit, making for a bleak future for parents and baby. Abstinence programmes in American schools are thought to have been highly successful in reducing the birth and pregnancy rates, and sexual activity amongst unmarried teenagers. According to figures gathered in these studies the reduction is more to do with abstinence than the use of contraception. Sweden reports show that teenage pregnancies have been vastly reduced, but other sources show that at the same time STD’s and related problems there are on the increase. Nearer to home the pregnancy rates amongst young teenage girls in East Lancashire are falling but we cannot automatically assume that the number of sexually active teenagers is; it’s probably more to do with education about contraception than abstinence. Education, not only sex-education is vital if the improvements are to continue, but along with this, showing young people that they do not need to engage in sexual activity if they don’t want to is also important. There is a need for them to know that they do not need to succumb to peer pressure, that they can say no. Education will give young people a different outlook on and better opportunities for improving their lifestyles. They must be encouraged to widen their career choices and social horizons in order to develop self-esteem and life-enhancing skills, which will enable them to make mature decisions about their own life choices. |
