Teenage pregnancies spike due to lockdowns and school closures

Mercy says World Vision is seeing similar trends as during long school closures in the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak, when teen pregnancies increased by 65% in Sierra Leone in West Africa.

World Vision estimates that, compared to a pre-pandemic year, up to 85 million more children are likely to experience physical, sexual and emotional violence as a result of the COVID-19 quarantine periods. Teen pregnancies and girls being forced into early marriage are part of that tragic finding.There has been progress: over the past 15 years, the number of girls marrying before age 18 has reduced from one in four globally to one in five, but the COVID-19 outbreak seriously threatens to reverse this trend.

“We’ve gone backwards,” says Mercy. “Before the pandemic, World Vision was focusing on working in communities with programs to improve their livelihoods. We support them to connect and sell into markets, to put food on the table and grow to be self-sufficient.”

Since COVID hit, World Vision has needed to put more effort into direct relief. “We’ve been supporting communities with relief packages because these countries don’t have the social support that we have in Australia,” says Mercy. “We’ve been giving out food packs to provide that buffer, just so people can eat.”

A concerning spike in pregnancies

With families at home because of the pandemic, a perfect storm of dangerous circumstances has hit young girls, including the struggle to put food on the table, the absence of school support and a lack of basic education for girls around their own sexual and reproductive rights.

“Girls as young as 12 are becoming pregnant,” says Mercy. “A girl who gives birth at the age of 15 is five times more likely to die in childbirth than a woman in her 20s. World Vision is working with faith leaders to educate communities and raise awareness about these harmful practices.”

Each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 – that is 22 girls every minute whose childhood, dreams, and education are cut short. Nearly 40 per cent of girls in the world’s poorest countries are married as children, which is twice the global average.

Some communities turn their backs on pregnant teenagers or outright expel them. World Vision is on the ground to help. “We have programs to support these young mothers,” says Mercy. “We offer them information, so they understand their reproductive system and how to look after themselves and support the girls and their infants.”

On top of vital support on the ground, World Vision works in advocacy and policy. “We look at the laws and policies of different countries, and a lot of them have signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” says Mercy.

“At face value, the policies seem protective, but in reality, some countries allow the marriage of girls as young as 15. Often the young girl is being married off for the exchange of a dowry. We are advocating for all countries to make the legal age of marriage 18 or above, the age of an adult.”

World Vision also works with other organisations and communities to ensure these young girls can return to school even after they fall pregnant. “We want them to continue with their education, and to really make that possible for them – there are often many obstacles for these young girls who are already in a difficult situation.”

When Australians sponsor a child through World Vision, “there is a ripple effect, and it’s a whole community that’s being supported,” says Mercy. “That support from Australia ensures the continued learning of young people, particularly girls who are already disadvantaged by gender inequality in their communities.”

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