Written by Josephine Escovidal
Because of the pandemic that is sweeping the globe now, several countries, including the Philippines, have been forced to implement complete lockdowns, which require every household to remain inside for an extended period. This has resulted in what was once a form of social interaction shifting to taking place online. However, the epidemic did not prevent people, even younger generations, from engaging in sexual activity. The lockdown may have assisted in preventing the spread of COVID-19 from one person to another, but it also contributed to an increase in the number of pregnancies among adolescents.
As a result of lockdowns, young people were obliged to stay indoors, which led to the development of more romantic partnerships. At the first opportunity, they had to meet one another in person, feelings quickly precede over rationale. Teenagers, who were highly agitated and resistant toward the health regulations that were being “shoved down their throats,” eventually let go of all their inhibitions and went to bed. They tried to push the consequences to the back of their minds. After that, pregnancy.
The Philippines has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Southeast Asia Region. This continues to be a problem in the country. It is anticipated that close to two million Filipino women between the ages of 15 and 49 will become pregnant in the year 2020, with girls under the age of 20 accounting for ten percent of these pregnancies. Nine months after the community quarantines are lifted, many women expect to give birth to their children. According to data acquired by the Commission on Population and Development – Caraga, teenage pregnancies are becoming more common in the area during the present health crisis. By data presented by Regional Director Alexander A. Makinano of POPCOM-Caraga at the second virtual meeting of the Gender and Development Focal Point System, there were 2337 cases of teens between the ages of 15 and 19 who became pregnant in the first quarter of the year and 2081 during the second quarter, which is when the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded.
In addition, the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the United Nations Population Funds (UNPFA) believe, based on their research, that the pandemic could result in 2.5 million new unplanned pregnancies. This figure represents a 42 percent increase over the number of unplanned pregnancies that occurred in the years before the pandemic.
Even if the girl was very young when she became pregnant, it would not be a problem for wealthy families to deal with the situation. But what if it happened to someone who was already poor and hardly had the means to support the pregnant woman? The pregnant girl’s parents would take the brunt of the criticism, particularly if their daughter made the decision not to rely on the child’s father. Given this assumption, the parents will approach the relevant authorities to secure help for the expecting wife. Unwanted pregnancies are not high on the list of the government’s priorities due to the many challenges it is now experiencing.
The expectant woman and her parents are on the verge of receiving rebuke and charity from the government at the same time. The pregnant woman is currently in a difficult situation, and the truth is that all of those involved are to blame for it. The pregnant girl and the partner, for their inappropriate sexual behavior. Even if they dispute it, it’s the parent’s fault for not having a firm enough hand. Due to the lack of an appropriate platform, the government is unable to educate young people about the obligations that come with unplanned and unwelcome pregnancies. Often, the government ignores the necessity of providing the health care system with the appropriate equipment and capacities to ward against unintended pregnancies and spare the parents the stress that is brought about by the incidence.
What is it that our nation is missing despite all the laws and steps that have been taken to reduce the number of adolescent pregnancies?
It has long been a priority in the Philippines to discourage sexual activity among young people. This objective is shared by the country’s schools, parents, and religious institutions. Some people might find it useful, but for others, all it does is satisfy their need to know more about the topic. Numerous educators think that it is difficult to prevent young people from engaging in sexual activity and that, as a result, we ought to include sex education as part of the standard curriculum. It is commonly held that once sex education has been incorporated into the curriculum, other steps can be taken.
According to a study published in the June 2006 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, teens have high anticipation that having sex will fulfill their desires for connection, social status, and sexual pleasure. In addition, these adolescents are in their phase where they are curious about many things, including sex. Different individuals react to these curiosities differently. These are not just curiosities out of nowhere, these are influenced by many things such as environment, hormones, peers, and puberty.
What Exactly Is Sexual Education? “Sex education” is defined as “the provision of information about bodily development, sex, sexuality, and relationships, along with skill-building to help young people
communicate about and make informed decisions regarding sex and their sexual health,” as stated on the website advocatesforyouth.org. “Sex education” The public holds the misconception that discussing such a subject with young adolescents will do nothing more than encourage them to engage in sexual activity. However, some hold the opinion that this is not the case and that, rather, it will encourage them to engage in sexual activity in a healthier manner. If we are unable to stop them from doing it, then the best thing we can do is show them a more secure method to accomplish it.
Sexuality education has the potential to tackle a variety of societal and health-related issues. The appropriate care of one’s reproductive organs can be learned through sexual education and having this knowledge can help to lower one’s risk of developing health problems and other challenges in their sexual life. In addition to this, it will present an understanding of the various sexual orientations that are out there, which will assist the students in figuring out their sexuality and may also assist in reducing homophobia and discrimination. And finally, it will assist its students in making judgments concerning sexuality, which is an important part of adulthood. It will discuss appropriate and secure methods of having sexual relations, such as the utilization of condoms and oral contraceptives, as well as the steps to take if a woman becomes pregnant. A step toward preventing teenage pregnancy, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and overpopulation, gaining this knowledge is an important first step.
A common viewpoint on adolescent parents is that since they are the ones who chose to become parents, it is only fair that they bear the repercussions of that choice by themselves. Even some parents prefer to neglect their children out of shame, rather than supporting them and leaving them to make such difficult decisions on their own.
According to several studies, including Hodgkinson SC, Colantuoni E, Roberts D, Berg-Cross L, and Belcher HM. Depressive symptoms and birth outcomes among pregnant teenagers and adolescent mothers have significantly higher rates of depression than adult mothers and their non-pregnant peers, both as parents and after giving birth. Depression is thought to affect adolescent moms between 16% and 44% of the time. With the statistic and study being said, these teen mothers need the support of the people close to them the most, such as their parents, since they are not in the right mental state and lack a lot of first-hand knowledge that only people with experience can give. Parents are the most qualified teachers for their children who are experiencing unwanted pregnancy since they already know what it is like to raise children and have gone through the experience themselves. There is no one else who could teach their child better than they could. In addition to this, they still do not have the financial support for their child that can only come from their parents.
Gina was impregnated by her boyfriend when she was 16 years old, but she decided to terminate the pregnancy due to parental pressure and her boyfriend’s inability to accept responsibility for their actions. She had no idea that it would be her greatest regret that would affect her in the future. Gina nearly died from complications caused by the procedure she underwent at a young age, but thankfully, her employer at the time discovered her and rushed her to the hospital.
Gina is now 36 years old, but due to an incident that occurred when she was 16, she is unable to have children. Gina says, “Had I known about proper sex education and the government aids available to people like me, I would have never done what I did, and I would now be able to have my children.” There are more people like Gina who, out of fear of parental rejection, would choose to do the unthinkable. If the government could inform everyone, including the parents of these individuals, that it is best to support them during the unexpected situation, and that the government can provide support for safe delivery, many of these individuals would not be forced to make the same decision Gina did.
There are other women like Jelsa, contrary to Gina’s experience. Jelsa had her first child when she was 17 years old. She initially feared rejection from her family because they had high expectations for her, but then she considered the safety of her child and requested their assistance. Jelsa’s family was initially shocked, but they never considered leaving her to face her situation alone. In addition to acknowledging their error, her boyfriend now assists in raising their child. Jelsa returned to school after giving birth to her first child and is now a graduating college student. Her experience demonstrates that with sufficient support, you can still stand up after repeatedly falling, indicating that a single undesirable circumstance does not indicate that you have already failed in life. You simply need to surround yourself with people who are willing to support and forgive you, and you should not lose hope yourself.
In addition to Gina and Jelsa, who became pregnant at the ages of 16 and 17, some women became pregnant at the age of 15 or younger. These individuals engaged in sexual activity at a young age without sexual education and government support, and without understanding the repercussions of their actions. However, some individuals did not consent to sexual intercourse and were forced to participate; this nonconsensual sex sometimes results in the pregnancy of some women. To protect these individuals, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a bill increasing the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16 years old (Raissa Robles, 2022).
The measure is intended to protect minors from sexual abuse and combat the country’s reputation as one of the world’s cybersex and pedophilia capitals.
Under the new law, anyone who has sexual relations with a Filipino under the age of 16 is guilty of “statutory rape,” unless both parties are in love and the age difference between them is less than three years. Regardless of the circumstances, if one of the parties is under 13 years old, the crime is a felony.
Raising the age of consent in the Philippines is regarded as one of the most innovative measures taken by the Philippine government, as it can protect against high rates of sex trafficking and adolescent pregnancy (The Straits Times, Editorial Notes, 2021).
What can the government do?
The UNFPA report analyzed new data and revealed that globally, some 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and modern methods of contraception. New data in the report also showed that about half of all adolescent mothers are child-mothers.
The report contains stories and posts staggering statistics on the Philippines, including:
● 36 in every 1,000 Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 already gave birth between 2004 and 2020
● 6% of women experienced intimate-partner violence in the past 12 months according to 2017 data
● 71 in every 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 went through an unintended pregnancy between 2015 and 2019.
● The Philippines ranks 56th among 150 countries for the number of unintended pregnancies at 71 per 1,000 women annually
● 51% of all pregnancies are unintended which is almost the same as the global average
The new report also noted that the Philippines joins countries including Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, and Indonesia, in a situation where “more than a fifth of first births to girls under the age of 18” were results of premarital conception that often precedes the marriage of girls.
“This is a crisis that remains unaddressed, even as many institutions—even the government—have repeatedly sounded the alarm,” noted Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) Executive Director Romeo Donato. He referred to Executive Order 141, which called on government instrumentalities to address the root causes of adolescent pregnancy.
“Even our economic managers had dubbed adolescent pregnancy as a ‘national social emergency.’ Yet the latest SWOP report reveals that the Philippines has yet to fully untangle the several complex layers of this issue that exacerbate the situation,” Mr. Dongeto stressed.
The government has passed laws aimed at resolving this problem, such as the Reproductive Health Law in 2013, raising the age of consent from 12-16, and has also made it a national priority. Nevertheless, the government should consider taking additional steps, such as incorporating education about sexuality into the school curriculum, expanding access to contraceptive pills, condoms, and other safe sex materials, and improving the quality of health care. EC, or emergency contraception, is also referred to as the morning pill. According to the medical experts that participated in the DKT Philippines, this method of birth control can be used without risk by adolescents. Therefore, the belief that it is risky for a youngster to use is illogical and cannot be considered a valid option.
If teen pregnancy is unavoidable, there are options available for both the child and the parents. During these trying times, the teen who became pregnant will experience a gamut of emotions, the most palpable of which is self-blame. The parents of the teenager who will soon give birth must bear in mind that their child needs them, and their support is integral to their child’s well-being. Blaming the kid will achieve nothing except push her deep into her shell, a myriad of scenarios playing in her mind, all of which may be detrimental to her and the unborn child in her womb. The government, with attached agencies, may come in handy and may have the ideal assistance package available for the young soon-to-be mom. Addressing incidental pregnancies for adolescents is certainly within the purview of the local government’s policy, greatly easing the burden off the parents’ shoulders. Finally, the government has its own stable of experts very much capable of assessing and taking control of the young mother’s anticipated experiences, including post-partum depression.
This story is part of the journalism fellowship of the Philippine Press Institute under the auspices of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
