Motherhood in Childhood

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force to obtain sex, begin in adolescence. Forms of gender discrimination affect girls and women, but dominant perceptions of masculinity among young men and adolescent boys are a driving force for male risk-taking behaviour, including street violence and unsafe sexual practices (UNFPA, 2013b). Strengthening opportunities for boys and young men to participate in supporting gender-equality efforts will have an impact not only on women and girls but also on their own lives. They are more likely to grow into future generations of men who live by genderequitable principles. With UNFPA support, Nicaragua took a “gender-transformative approach” to preventing sexual violence and pregnancy through an initiative, Que Tuani No Ser Machista. Gendertransformative programmes challenge and transform rigid gender norms and relations and generally entail moving beyond the individual level to also address the interpersonal, sociocultural, structural and community factors that JAMAICA OFFERS A MODEL FOR PREVENTING ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY AND SUPPORTING YOUNG MOTHERS “Becoming pregnant at such a young age was a terrifying experience. I did not know what to do when I found out,” said 17-year-old Joelle as she recounted the emotional turmoil of being pregnant during her teenage years. “It was going to be my final year in high school. I would have been graduating and making my parents proud,” she recalled. “I was so horrified, ashamed and devastated to see that all the things I wanted would not happen.” Joelle was one of two girls who candidly shared their experience with the First Lady of Burkina Faso, Chantal Compaoré, and her team, who were in Kingston, Jamaica to learn about the strategies the Government has employed to address adolescent pregnancy in the country. The Adolescent Mothers Programme of the Women’s Center Foundation of Jamaica that Joelle is enrolled in is a centrepiece of these strategies, a UNFPA “good practice” programme and a model for other countries grappling with the issue of teen pregnancy. Joelle described the organization and the counsellors who are caring for her during this difficult period as “firefighters who rescued me from the mental burning building I was in.” Getting results Since 1978, Jamaica’s Programme for Adolescent Mothers has been providing continuing education, counselling and practical skills training for mothers under age 17. Through the programme, they can pursue their education at the nearest Women’s Centre for at least one semester and then return to the formal school system after their babies are born. The Foundation operates seven main centres and nine outreach stations across Jamaica, and provided continuing education to 1,402 adolescent mothers in the 2011–2012 school year, more than half of whom successfully returned to the formal school system. The Centre also offers a range of other services such as day care facilities and walk-in counselling for women and men of all ages. This includes counselling for “baby fathers,” their parents and the parents of teen mothers. Putting family planning at the core Family planning is an integral element of the counselling programme offered at each branch of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica, and UNFPA has partnered with the organization for years to help reduce the risk of unintended second pregnancies among mothers they counsel. With the knowledge and consent of their parents, the young mothers are provided with sexual and reproductive health information and offered a contraceptive method of their choice, which helps them to delay a second pregnancy and enables them to complete their education. With support from UNFPA, the Women’s 78 CHAPTER 4: TAKING ACTION
influence gender-related attitudes and behaviours (Promundo, 2010). Through group education and advocacy campaigns, the Nicaraguan initiative prompted boys between ages 10 and 15 in 43 communities to reflect on what it means to be macho and why, and encouraged them to question gender norms and stereotypes. Group education included exercises that encouraged boys to express their feelings, especially about what it means to be a young man. An estimated 3,000 teenagers “I am always imagining what my life would be like if I had met someone before I was pregnant, someone who taught me to be assertive, someone who talked to me about relationships, the advantages and disadvantages of engaging in sex so young. Maybe I would not be in this situation.” Swinton, 20, pregnant at 15, Zimbabwe Centre distributed more than 10,000 male condoms and 6,000 female condoms between 2008 and 2011 alone. Over the years, the Centre has succeeded in keeping the second pregnancy rate of the adolescent mothers enrolled in its programme below 2 per cent. It has also been effective in helping students complete their secondary education and even advance to university. Back to school: The success of advocacy In Jamaica, the immediate consequence of teenage pregnancy is expulsion from school, so reintegrating adolescent mothers into the formal education system has been a priority. These efforts have recently paid off in a landmark achievement when the “Policy on the Re-Integration of Adolescent Mothers into the Formal Education System” was approved by the Cabinet in May 2013. This policy breakthrough, spearheaded by the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation and the Ministry of Education, with support from UNFPA, will allow all school-aged mothers to continue their education after the birth of their child. As of September 2013, when the new policy went into effect, teenage mothers no longer face the risk of being denied entry back to school. Schools are now mandated to accept adolescent mothers back into the formal education system after they give birth. Moreover, the young moms will have the choice to attend a new school or to return to the one they left. “The education of our girls is a strength of Jamaican culture and history,” says Ronald Thwaites, Jamaica's Minister of Education. “We want to give every girl an education, no matter what her circumstances, even if she has become pregnant and had a child. We want to lift her up, make sure she gets the best opportunity. We are a nation of second chances.” Innovation fosters success: Engaging men, nurseries While addressing the young mothers’ challenges is the main priority, engaging men and providing them with information and counselling has also been a central element in the Women’s Centre’s successful strategy. As part of the Centre’s ongoing peer counselling services, UNFPA has supported the training of 50 young men in the Clarendon and Manchester regions of Jamaica. Through various activities, they help to sensitize their peers on sexual and reproductive health issues including family planning, HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health services. The young men attend Centres or outreach sites close to their homes and provide their respective outreach managers with reports on their activities. THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2013 79
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Motherhood in Childhood Facing the
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state of world population 2013 Moth
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to health. Conversely, a girl who i
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“I was 14… My mom and her siste
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access to sexual and reproductive h
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Research shows that addressing unin
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Additional efforts must be made to
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1 A global challenge Every year in
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ights, or where access to health ca
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According to DHS and MICS surveys,
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“Efforts—and resources—to pre
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adolescents with no education and i
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A UNFPA review of four countries fo
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Developed countries face challenges
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ESTIMATING ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY AND
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2 The impact on girls’ health, ed
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can increase the risk of miscarriag
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In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated
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ADOLESCENTS, AGES 10 TO 19, LIVING
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community environments, she may fee
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Page 45 and 46: 3 Pressures from many directions Ad
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