"That makes you an adult"
By Anastasia Moloney
BOGOTA, May 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Girls in Colombia view getting pregnant as a means of protection against gang violence in a country with one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Latin America, government health experts say.
Anecdotal evidence from violent neighbourhoods in the capital Bogota and the second city of Medellin shows some teenage girls intentionally get pregnant because they believe it brings security and status.
"In some contexts, being a mother is synonymous with protection," said Paula Sierra, an adviser at the department of social integration at the Bogota mayor's office.
Some girls view getting pregnant by a gang member as a way to be protected from rival gangs, and believe they are less likely to face pressure to commit crimes.
"It sounds strange but if, as a girl, you don't want to be in a gang you get a boyfriend who is a gang member because they will protect you," Sierra said.
"And at the same time, while you're pregnant people don't expect you to have to do bad things anymore."
For a male gang leader or member, becoming a father is a way of leaving behind a legacy when life expectancy is short.
"In terms of your life prospects, as a man you know that you are not going to live beyond the age of 24," Sierra told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview.
"So you want to become a father before that. That makes you an adult ... that makes you a man who's capable of making someone pregnant."
CHILD MUMS
One in every five girls in Colombia between 15 to 19 years are or have been pregnant, according to government figures.
Experts say teenage pregnancy in Colombia is also fuelled by rape at the hands of relatives and stepfathers, a lack of information about sex, and obstacles in accessing contraception.
When girls get pregnant as teenagers it puts them on a path to poverty and dependence rather than school or decent work, and it brings health risks.
Worldwide about 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth each year, and complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls in this age group, according to the World Health Organization.
Last year, 314 girls aged 10 to 14 became pregnant in Bogota alone, down from 515 in 2010.
While the number has nearly halved in recent years, child pregnancy is still tolerated among society, said Amelia Rey, a health official at Bogota's department of social integration.
"There still exists the cultural notion that one way or another this is acceptable or permissible," Rey said.
"We have to begin a cultural change that a girl under 14 years can't be a mother .. there are no circumstances that can justify it."
Health officials say tackling teen pregnancy also involves debunking myths among teenagers about sex.
Common myths include teenagers believing that girls can't get pregnant when having sex for the first time or while having sex standing up.
In response, Bogota's department for social integration has trained around 1,000 youth leaders to talk to their peers, in and outside of schools, about safe sex and contraception. The aim is to train a total of 10,000 mentors by next year.
Soap operas are also being used to reach teenagers, with plot lines tackling the issue of teen pregnancy and safe sex.
A recent initiative between the department for social integration and a Colombian television channel, RCN, has seen teen pregnancy being discussed on a popular soap - Francisco the Mathematician - that is set in a school.
"We're trying to work directly with young people and to speak to them in their own language," Sierra said.
(Reporting by Anastasia Moloney @anastasiabogota, Editing by Ros Russell.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
