Teen pregnancies are on the rise in the Philippines. But the latest data, gathered over 3 years by the Philippine Statistics Authority, have recorded at least 40 babies born to girls as young as 10.
“This means kids as young as 9 years old are having sex, getting pregnant and giving birth a year later,” Commission on Population executive director Juan Antonio Perez III told ABS-CBN News.
The alarming statistics mean about 15 babies were born to 10-year-old moms in 2011. In 2012, 43 10-year-olds became moms, followed by 50 and 43 births in 2013 and 2014.
According to the Commission on Population’s Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS), sexual activity in males and females under 18 have increased from 13% in 1994 to 23% in 2013.
Though the data Perez mentioned didn’t specify if cases of rape were taken into account, Commission’s Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) living in Zamboanga shared that their first sexual encounters were unplanned and had an “element of force”.
Perez noted that Cebu records about 11,000 teen pregnancies a year—the highest in the country.
This alarming statistic, Perez said, when added with the 130,000 births from those under 18 and over 10 each year, means more families led by minors will need adequate support.
This alarming statistic, Perez said, when added with the 130,000 births from those under 18 and over 10 each year, means more families led by minors will need adequate support.
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“Removing the births from moms ages 19, we still have 130,000 families led by minors being created every year,” he stated. “That’s one or two towns of minors being created every year. You have to provide special services to these 130,000 new families. These nuclear families, sila ang mag-aalaga at mag-aabsorb ng mga bata. There’s also the stigma of having a baby at a very young age.”
Perez went on to enumerate factors that shape the sexual behaviors of the Filipino youth, such as the internet and porn. About 92.3 percent of youth in NCR use the internet. Of this number, 66.2 percent admitted to watching porn.
The study also stated that those exposed to the internet were more likely to initiate sexual activity.
READ: PH misses RH goals: teen pregnancies & HIV rise
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