Threats to Girlhood
Threats to Girlhood
13.6% of pregnant women under the age of 20 report being physically abused by a former intimate partner prior to and during their pregnancy.223 i
33% of girls who drop out of high school in the U.S. report that pregnancy was a major factor in their decision to quit school school.224verty.225
Becoming a teen mother doubles the likelihood that a woman will live in poverty. 225 The US teen pregnancy rate is twice that of other industrialized nations.226 The US teen pregnancy rate is four times higher than the European Union’s average.227 22% of 20 year old women in the US are teen moms.228 The UK teen birth rate is twice as high as the teen birth rate in Germany, three times the teen birth rate in France, and Behavior. 2006. 223 Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law. “An Agenda for Change: An Illinois Perspective on Creating a Better Future for America’s Women and Girls.” December 2009. p.8. http://www.povertylaw.org/advocacy/publications/agenda-for-change.pdf 224 Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law. “An Agenda for Change: An Illinois Perspective on Creating a Better Future for America’s Women and Girls.” December 2009. p.8. http://www.povertylaw.org/advocacy/publications/agenda-for-change.pdf 225 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. “A League Table of Teen Births in Rich Countries.” Innocenti Report Card, Issue no. 3, July 3 2001. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf 226 Darroch, Jacqueline E.; Singh, Susheela; Frost, Jennifer J.; and the Study Team. “Differences in Teenage Pregnancy Rates Among Five Developed Countries: The Roles of Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use.” Family Planning Perspectives, Volume 33, Number 6, November/December 2001. 227 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. “A League Table of Teen Births in Rich Countries.” Innocenti Report Card, Issue no. 3, July 3 2001. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf 228 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. “A League Table of Teen Births in Rich Countries.” Innocenti Report Card, Issue no. 3, July 3 2001. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf
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six times the teen birth rate in the Netherlands.229 Because the “relationship between teenage birth rates and overall birth rates varies considerably from country to country,” UNICEF researchers have concluded that varying differences in teen pregnancy rates between countries is the result of nation-specific factors which are affecting teenagers.230 The developed nations with the highest teen birth rates among girls aged 15-19 are: the US (52.1 per thousand), the UK (30.8), New Zealand (29.8), the Slovic Republic (26.9), Hungary (26.5), Iceland (24.7), Portugal (21.2), Canada (20.2), Ireland (18.7), and Australia (18.4).231 Females are more susceptible to STDs than males.232 1of 4 American girls between the ages of 14 and 19 currently have a sexually transmitted disease; 3 million girls.233 Adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are more frequently infected with chlamydia and gonorrhea than any other age group (representing 409,531 reported cases in the US each year).234 The Centers for Disease Control has reported that Black American teenage girls have the highest prevalence of 229 BBC News. “Teen pregnancy: Why are rates rising?” May 27, 2005. http://news.bbc. co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4584175.stm 230 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. “A League Table of Teen Births in Rich Countries.” Innocenti Report Card, Issue no. 3, July 3 2001. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf 231 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. “A League Table of Teen Births in Rich Countries.” Innocenti Report Card, Issue no. 3, July 3 2001. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf 232 Center for Disease Control. “Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2008.” Division of STD Prevention, November 2008. http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats08/surv2008Complete.pdf 233 Amis, John. “1 in 4 teen girls have STD.” USA Today, May 27, 2008. http://www. usatoday.com/news/health/2008-03-11-std_n.htm 234 Center for Disease Control. “Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2008.” Division of STD Prevention, November 2008. http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats08/surv2008Complete.pdf 60