Teenage pregnancy is a major problem worldwide

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,
The issue of teenage pregnancy is inescapable. The Aranaputa Toshao Mark George opined that while progress has been made in the development of his community, he is very concerned about the rising level of teenage pregnancy.
According to him, the scourge is on the increase and is becoming one of the most prevalent social issues that need to be addressed at the earliest opportunity.
In the USA, problems in this area are most obvious: three in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20, less than two per cent of teen moms earn a college degree by age 30, about a quarter of teen moms have a second child within 24 months of their first baby, eight out of 10 teen dads do not marry the mother of their child, and almost 50 per cent of teens have never considered how a pregnancy would affect their lives.
Where Guyana is concerned, I have a feeling that in some areas, we are doing much worse. We need to do the field work, so as to ascertain what is happening where, and among whom.
Only by getting the facts, will we be able to know what to do.
A research was presented in 2006, in which it was suggested that rap stars are encouraging early sexual activity among teenagers by promoting a degrading view of women. Psychologists said their findings from a three year study presented a worrying picture of how popular music affected the attitudes of boys and girls to sex.
The report was all about how rap music and hip hop, with their particular emphasis on sex and demeaning depictions of women, were to be blamed for encouraging early sexual behaviour, leading to the spread of diseases and the upsurge of underage pregnancies. We now need to see if there is a link – get the pregnant young ladies and ask about their musical preferences. Also, if the males, responsible for the pregnancies can be found, I ask that we do the same check.
Who are the ones listening to rap? What is their educational background? How strong are their moral convictions? And what level of success ratings would they be given? I suggest that, as much as possible, teenagers have to be protected from the rap-hip/ hop culture, that often says to them that they can do as they feel.
Yours respectfully,
Damien Glassgow

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