The problem is lack of education and lack of opportunity. Without education and opportunity for a bright future, early sexual activity, early marriage and teen motherhood are inevitable.
Ironically, those who bemoan adolescent pregnancy and motherhood are the ones who fight abstinence and faithfulness programs. The lame plea, “give girls greater control over their reproductive rights,” falls flat. Promoting thin latex condoms hardly gives girls greater control. The lame advice, “promote gender equality to empower women,” is impractical. How can an adolescent girl be “empowered to resist sexual coercion”? The lame goal, “helping girls gain greater control over their sexual and reproductive lives,” is counterproductive. Much of the UNFPA booklet describes cultural mores that will not bend to a young girl’s control.
Many of the UNFPA recommendations are good: enforcing laws against child marriage, promoting education for girls, providing good health services before, during and after child birth, working with families and boys to promote respect for girls’ rights and zero tolerance for violence against girls and women
But besides the underlying anti-marriage and anti-motherhood messages, the booklet repeatedly stresses the importance of readily available access to contraception for adolescents as well as comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education. While adolescents need to know basic information, they do not need the type of sex education that comes out of the United Nations — advocating “safe sex” and values-free, non-judgmental attitudes about sexual behavior.
While there is plenty of advice and policies to promote delaying marriage and childbearing, there is no mention of delaying sexual activity. And, the word “abstinence” is not mentioned a single time in the whole booklet.