Motherhood in Childhood

social and economic exclusion from mainstream
society and pressures within their communities
(Colombini et al., 2011).
Poverty and economic stagnation are other
national-level forces that can deny adolescents
opportunities in life. With few prospects for
jobs, livelihoods, self-sufficiency, a decent standard
of living and all that comes with it, a girl
becomes more vulnerable to early marriage and
pregnancy because she or her family may see
these as her only options or destiny. In addition,
poor adolescents are less likely to complete
their schooling and consequently often have less
access to school-based comprehensive sexuality
education or information about sexual and
reproductive health and about preventing a pregnancy
(World Health Organization, 2011).
In many emergency, conflict and crisis settings,
adolescent girls are often separated from
family and cut off from protective social structures.
They are therefore at increased risk of
rape, sexual exploitation and abuse, further
increasing their vulnerability to pregnancy (Save
the Children and UNFPA, 2009). To provide
for themselves or the needs of their families in
crisis settings (as well as in conditions of extreme
poverty), adolescent girls may feel compelled to
engage in sex work, exacerbating vulnerabilities
to violence, sexually transmitted infections and
pregnancy. Meanwhile, because of service disruptions,
damaged infrastructure, lack of security
or because providers may be overwhelmed by
a surge in demand for services, access to sexual
and reproductive health care, including family
planning, may be limited. Similarly, schools,
often the main provider of comprehensive sexuality
education, may be shuttered, and other
sources of accurate and complete information
about how to prevent a pregnancy or a sexually
“…I was in the first year of junior
high when it happened. One night,
I went to fetch water…he took me…
he raped me. I was scared, but I
was still a kid of 15, I could not think
or imagine that I was going to get
pregnant. I knew it after.”
Léocadie, 16, Burundi
transmitted infection, including HIV, may be
scarce or non-existent. In some crisis settings,
parents may force their girls into marriage with
the aim of reducing economic hardship or with
the expectation that the arrangement will help
protect their daughters from harm in environments
where sexual violence is common.
Community-level determinants
Each community has its own norms, beliefs and
attitudes that determine how much autonomy
and mobility a girl has, how easily she is able to
enjoy and exercise her rights, whether she is safe
from violence, whether she is forced into marriage,
how likely she is to become pregnant, or
whether she can resume her education after
having had a child.
Community-level forces are especially important
in determining whether there is a climate
of sexual coercion, whether young people have
THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2013
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