Motherhood in Childhood

t Contraception
information at
CEMOPLAF centre
in Ecuador.
© Mark Tuschman/
Planned Parenthood
Global
influenced behaviours such as condom use
(Gurman and Underwood, 2008; Bertrand
et al., 2006). Some reduced the number of
partners for women, decreased their frequency
of casual sex or sex with “sugar daddies” and
increased abstinence.
In Zambia, the HEART (Helping Each
Other Act Responsibly Together) campaign,
designed for and by adolescents ages 13 to 19,
helped raise awareness about HIV prevention
and condom use and sought to create a social
context in which prevailing social norms could
be discussed, questioned and reassessed to
reduce sexual transmission of HIV. An evaluation
found that, compared with those who did
not view the programming, viewers were
87 per cent more likely to use condoms, and
67 per cent more likely to have used a condom
the last time they had sex. Condom use is a
behaviour that can help prevent pregnancy
(AIDSTAR-One, n.d.).
Brazil’s Programme for Sexual and Emotional
Education: A New Perspective is framed within
a perspective of rights and is focused on preventing
unsafe sexual practices and promoting
positive approaches that address what it means
to have a “healthy and pleasurable sex life.” The
programme, which also addresses gender equity,
uses an integrated approach that reaches adolescents
in and out of the classroom and involves
teachers, health care providers, families and
the community. Adolescents are also reached
through radio programmes, school newspapers,
plays and informational workshops. An evaluation
that polled 4,795 youth in 20 public
schools in the state of Minas Gerais found that
after the programme, the group receiving sexuality
education had a higher percentage using
condoms with either a casual partner or a steady
partner and a higher percentage using a modern
contraceptive, compared with a control group.
Additionally, the programme did not result in
an increase in sexual activity (Andrade et al.,
2009).
Media campaigns have been more effective at
reaching urban adolescents (both in and out of
school) than rural adolescents, although their
reach is expanding with the increasing availability
of social media and mobile communications
technologies.
However, just as the media can be part of the
solution by advocating for prevention, they may
also glamourize sex and adolescent childbearing,
as in MTV’s Teen Mom 2 television series in the
United States.
Advertising campaigns are another way of
educating or informing the public. Some of
these campaigns rely on fear or scare tactics to
68 CHAPTER 4: TAKING ACTION