- The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic represents a five-year setback in terms of the achievements of the Specific Adolescent Fertility Rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, going from 61 to 65 live births per thousand adolescents aged 15 to 19 years .
- To analyze the situation of girls and adolescents in the Covid-19 Era, Tejiendo Redes Infancia will hold the Seminar #NiñasPoderosas, on May 26, 27 and 28, the event will be broadcast through the Internet television channel Ollin.TV
In Latin America, girls and adolescents are present in 55% of households, more than a third of these households are in a situation of poverty, this according to data from UNICEF (2016). In addition to this, the same high rates of discrimination and violence prevail, which increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and due in part to measures such as confinement taken to prevent this disease.
Being a girl and adolescent in the region increases the risk of being a victim of early pregnancy and / or forced marriage, sexual abuse, rape, labor exploitation, human trafficking, child abuse, disappearance, femicide, among other risks, which are increased in the case of indigenous, migrant, rural girls or those living in some other situation of vulnerability.
Latin America and the Caribbean have the second highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in the world among adolescents and young people between 15 and 19 years of age, almost 18% of births in the region correspond to mothers under 20 years of age. Each year, around 1.5 million adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth (UNICEF, 2018).
Faced with this scenario, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) presented in November 2020, the Report "Socioeconomic Consequences of Adolescent Pregnancy in six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean", he points out that the impact of the pandemic of Covid-19 represents a five-year setback in terms of the achievements of the Specific Adolescent Fertility Rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, going from 61 to 65 live births for every thousand adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age.
The analysis, which shows several scenarios, indicates that as an effect of the pandemic, it is estimated that the number of additional pregnancies will increase by around half a million, this due to restrictions on access to contraceptives, economic factors or sexual abuse, especially in underage girls. 15 years.
Likewise, it points out that sexual abuse has an important weight in the teenage pregnancy rate and fundamentally in pregnancy in girls (10 to 14 years of age). It has been identified that most of the aggressors belong to the close family and social circle, in addition to the fact that there are a significant number of cases that are not reported out of fear or because there is no trust in the system. In Latin America, victims of sexual violence face barriers to accessing emergency contraception methods (even prohibited in some countries, such as Honduras) or legal termination of pregnancy, which could lead to unwanted pregnancies.
Among the impacts on the lives of young women who become pregnant early are the lack of opportunities and expectations, as well as a life project. Almost half of mothers between the ages of 10 and 19 dedicate themselves exclusively to housework and have three times fewer opportunities, that is, 6.4% versus 18.6% to obtain a university degree than those who postponed motherhood, while earning on average 24% less.
Latin America has the second highest fertility rate (66.5 per 1,000) in the world among women aged 15 to 19, of the six countries in the report, the highest rate is presented by Guatemala (84), followed by Ecuador (77) , Mexico (66), Argentina (64), Paraguay (60) and Colombia (57).
To address this and other issues, the initiative Weaving Childhood Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean will carry out, on the days May 26, 27 and 28 the Fourth Latin American Thought Seminar on Children's Rights "Powerful Girls" Mainstreaming gender policies in children's organizations oriented to the analysis of the context, paradigmatic cases as well as recommendations to advance the agenda of the rights of girls and adolescents.
The Virtual Seminar, carried out by the initiative Weaving Childhood Nets in Latin America and the Caribbean, collaboration with the Argentine Committee for Follow-up and Application of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (MARRIAGE), the Alliance for Colombian Children and the Network for the Rights of the Child in Mexico (REDIM)It will have the participation of about 30 experts, representatives of international organizations, academia, civil society; as well as powerful girls and adolescents from all over Latin America and the Caribbean. The transmissions can be followed live through the channel of Ollin.tv. For more information, we invite you to follow the social networks of @weavingredesinfancia and with the hashtag #Powerful Girls.