PAYAO, Philippines – “Let’s wait outside the church,” Jenine Ortiz, 23, said while walking with a group of youth leaders. They were scheduled to meet a 16-year-old teenage mother with her 1-year-old baby.
Each young person in the group had learned to counsel young moms who need guidance as new parents. They often dedicate a day over a weekend to offer advice and support, with the hope of preventing more teenage pregnancies.
Cultural norms and peer pressure influence early sexual activity, often unprotected, in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. One recent study found that only 58.5 per cent of adolescents aged 10–19 who have engaged in premarital sex used contraception the first time.
Adolescent pregnancy can disrupt education and lead to medical complications, sexually transmitted infections and mental health challenges.
“My advocacy is based on my personal experience,” Ortiz told UNFPA. She has watched her elder sister, an adolescent mother, struggle to cope.
Breaking barriers to rights
UNFPA works with young people to become leaders and advocates for their rights through the Barangay Expanded Youth Leadership and Governance Programme. The initiative is part of the Joint Programme on Accelerating the Reduction of Adolescent Pregnancy, a collaborative effort with UNICEF and WHO, funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The project provides adolescents with better sexual and reproductive health services, information and skills to make informed decisions.
Ortiz explained that talking about sex is still taboo in her community. Some people have even become used to the idea that teenagers have children. “As time goes by, I can see that it feels normal for them. We are hoping this will change,” she said.
In training sessions organized by the Zuellig Family Foundation, Ortiz learned about her rights and how they should be protected. “I remember when I was about 9 years old, an older man kissed me, and I thought this was okay because he was close to our family,” she recalled. “After attending the awareness campaign, I realized it was not appropriate.”
She continued, “I hope there will be fewer teenage parents in our area, and even if there are, they should not be afraid or ashamed to visit our health centre – because it is their right to have access to these services.”
Young people relate to each other
At the church, the young mother and her daughter arrived. The youth group accompanied them to a rural health unit for an awareness event on safe sex and contraception.
As Ortiz and her peers entered the health unit, three other expectant teenage mothers were waiting for the upcoming talk. The local midwife brought out their records as Ortiz prepared information pamphlets to share.
“It's effective to have youth leaders because we are the same age, we feel what they are feeling and know what they are going through on a daily basis, which sometimes people from an older generation may not relate to,” Ortiz said with a smile. “We can better understand their situation and sympathize, without passing judgment.”
