There is a pressing demand for effective age-appropriate sexual health education in schools. Nalini Singh, the executive director of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, highlighted this need after the concerning discovery that 1,000 teenage mothers became pregnant each year between 2016 and 2019.
Ms. Singh noted that the rise in early sexual activity among younger children is a troubling development. She questioned, “What can we do to prevent them from making decisions that will ultimately change the course of their lives?” She stressed the importance of teaching children about bodily autonomy, safe spaces, consent, and healthy relationships.
She emphasized that women and girls must be empowered with essential information about their bodies. “To deny them this knowledge will worsen issues related to violence and social challenges such as teenage pregnancy and poverty,” Ms. Singh stated.
Additionally, she argued for breaking the taboo surrounding discussions of sex, indicating that the lack of information is detrimental to children, impacting their ability to make informed decisions about their bodies.
The executive director called for the inclusion of sexual health education in school curricula, noting, “We have consistently advocated for this through national budget submissions, young women-led and girl-led forums, and research analysis.”
She expressed hope that the release of newly published data would encourage stakeholders to critically engage with this issue and integrate comprehensive sexual education for children.
According to findings from “Putting Data and Evidence into Action: An Intersectional Profile of Adolescent Pregnancy and Motherhood in Fiji,” the adolescent fertility rate among mothers aged 15 to 19 increased significantly between 2016 and 2019, rising from 30 to 38 births per 1,000 among iTaukei mothers, and from 19 to 24 births per 1,000 among non-iTaukei mothers.