There is an urgent call for age-appropriate sexual health education in schools, according to Nalini Singh, executive director of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement. This plea comes in light of alarming statistics that reveal approximately 1,000 teenagers become pregnant each year from 2016 to 2019.
Singh expressed her concern over the rising trend of early sexual activity among young children, questioning, “What can we do to prevent them from making decisions that will ultimately change the course of their lives?” She emphasized the importance of educating children about bodily autonomy, safe spaces, consent, and respectful relationships.
Singh argued that empowering women and girls with fundamental knowledge about their bodies is crucial. “To deny them this knowledge will exacerbate issues of violence and social problems such as teenage pregnancy and poverty,” she warned. She urged society to reconsider the taboo nature of discussing sex, noting how decisions made to withhold information negatively impact children’s ability to make informed choices regarding their bodies.
Furthermore, Singh advocated for the inclusion of sexual health education in school curriculums. She stated, “We have consistently pushed for this through national budget submissions and research analysis work.” She hopes that the recent publication of relevant data will encourage stakeholders to critically address this issue and incorporate comprehensive sexual education for children.
According to a study titled “Putting Data and Evidence into Action: An Intersectional Profile of Adolescent Pregnancy and Motherhood in Fiji,” the annual adolescent fertility rate for mothers aged 15-19 increased sharply from 2016 to 2019. Specifically, the rate rose from 30 to 38 births per 1,000 among iTaukei mothers and from 19 to 24 births per 1,000 among non-iTaukei mothers.