Empowering teenagers to prevent pregnancy: lessons from South Africa

TLDR

Teenage pregnancy reduction is a priority for the Millennium Development Goals, and South Africa—though historically high—has seen substantial declines amid moral panic debates. The study argues that empowering social policies and a greater focus on gender and sexuality are essential for further reducing teenage pregnancy. The authors highlight that empowering policies, family responses, and education reforms collectively reduce teenage pregnancy risks. They find that engaging men and boys in discussions of masculinity and family support is crucial for effective pregnancy prevention.

Abstract

Reducing rates of teenage pregnancy is an important part of the agenda of action for meeting most of the Millenium Development Goals. South Africa has important lessons for other countries in this regard as the rate of teenage pregnancy is high but has declined very substantially over the last twenty years. The country experiences waves of moral panic about teenage pregnancy, with assertions that current problems are rooted in accepting or even encouraging the sexual appetites of young people rather than sternly disciplining them. In this paper, we argue that the key to success in teenage pregnancy reduction has been an empowering social policy agenda that has sought to work with young people, making them aware of their rights and the risks of sexual intercourse. Furthermore, family responses and education policy have greatly reduced the potential negative impact of teenage pregnancy on the lives of teenage girls. There is tremendous scope for further progress in reducing teenage pregnancy and we argue that this lies in paying more attention to issues of gender and sexuality, including the terms and conditions under which teenagers have sex. There needs to be critical reflection and engagement with men and boys on issues of masculinity, including their role in child rearing, as well as examination within families of their engagement with supporting pregnancy prevention and responses to pregnancies.