`Under age births fall to just one
Tuesday 17th March 2009, 2:29PM GMT.
JUST one girl aged under-16 became a mother last year.
The figure is the lowest for years. In 2007, three under-16s – two girls and a boy – became parents.
Complementary health education service senior educator Julie Duquemin said the fall in numbers might be because the island has an independent sexual health education service.
‘The States of Guernsey and the Education Department were very forward thinking when they set aside funds to develop this service in the late 1980s,’ she said, adding that the figures were promising.
‘They show that young people are being responsible and that in Guernsey they are showing maturity.’
In the UK, pregnancy rates for under-16s are at the highest level in a decade.
That age group now accounts for one in 100 of all pregnancies in the UK, and 8.3 in every 1,000 girls under 16 had become pregnant in 2007.
Mrs Duquemin said the huge difference between the UK figures and Guernsey’s was because the island had its own trained nurses who went into schools to teach about sexual health and relationships.
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And how many fell pregnant at 15 (underage) to have the baby at 16 (legal)?
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Great article, cleverly written. It’s a bit misleading to talk about UK pregnancy rates and compare that to Guernsey birth rates without a mention of abortions….
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totally agree with you, there are so many girls between the 16 – 18 age group sporting a bump or a buggy, this is the age group we need to be concerned about!!! maybe they should release those figures!!!!
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I think thats a positive sign in the UK young teenagers are regularly seen pushing prams.
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The girl who gave birth last year defo wasn’t 16 when she gave birth I no that for a fact
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Only one child of 15yrs to give birth! Thats one to many!.Living here in the UK you usually get one down every street per year and no-one bats an eyelid.Its about time the Fathers of the kids were taken to court for underage sex. Now lets hear from to do-gooders !
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Neil, I’m no do-gooder BUT you can not make the male totally responsible for underage sex. Girls can make themselves look a lot older than they actually are. There is only one way you can sort this and that’s by punishing the girl for underage sex. ONLY the girl knows for sure if she is old enough. It should be the girl who gets taken to Court and punished…..simple as !!
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El Presidente Bob – I was thinking exactly the same thing….
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gsy25nobaby the article is about under age births not those who are of age, my opinion is what does it matter if you are of age and get pregnant? I am totally against abortions and my opinion is if you are responsible enough to get pregnant then you are responsible enough to follow it through there is always a ‘get out clause’for those who are not ready so the ones that do have children must feel that they are ready I know loads of young parents who are great with their children.
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Anon – But what about, as GsyGal identifies, a girl who becomes pregnant at 15 and gives birth at 16? That’s the ambiguity in the article. It’s not a valid comparison to make with the UK as we don’t have the figures for underage PREGNANCIES in Guernsey, we have BIRTH rates instead. I’ll bet you the pregnancy rate is higher than one in the last year…..
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Nothing to brag about. We need as many people born as quickly as possible to be working while I’m of pensionable age. Teen pregnancies should be encouraged.
I may convert to catholicism
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The rule used to be that all positive pregnancy tests (which were sent to the Doctors or Path Lab for testing) for girls under the age of 16 were reported to the Police. It was then up to them to prosecute or not.
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Duly noted Jackie – I’ll get on the case….
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Student Bob my comment was to gsy25nobaby about his comment:- there are so many girls between the 16 – 18 age group sporting a bump or a buggy, this is the age group we need to be concerned about!!! maybe they should release those figures!!!!
I agree that there are people getting pregnant underage etc I never said that there were not people gettin pregnant at the age of 15 and giving birth at 16.
I was disagreeing with gsy25nobaby’s comments.
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john sorry but it should be both of them that get taken to court why should it just be the girl???? it takes two you no a girl cant get pregnent on her own !!!!!!
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I think everyone -of any age- should need a license to have children. You get the license by proving that you’re equipped to look after it – both financially and mentally. Failing to get a license means instant jail term and abortion.
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Pah: Notwithstanding the utter inhumanity of your idea, who exactly would decide whether someone was adequetly financially or mentally equipped? What if, for example, after a child’s birth someone became mentally ill or lost their job – should their children be killed off then?
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Pah
Your idea is stupid! You make it seem like children are animals which they are not! What has money got to do with anything I know loads of people who are not that well off and they can still provide for their children money is not an issue.
And as for the failing to get a licence means instant abortion is ridiculous who in their right mind could be cruel enough to force someone to have an abortion that is just wrong on so many levels get a clue!!!
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Those that fall outside Pah’s idea of fit mothers could have an ASBO (Anti Sex Behaviour Order)applied. Insteand of having something strapped to their ankle, they could have a one strapped around their hips – a modern day chastity belt unlocked only by a pillar of the community, a member of the church and a judge.
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Paul – aren’t children taken into care when the parents are no longer able to look after them?
And Anon – I thought you needed a licence for most animals? Proof that you are responsible and judged to be able to care for them. Are you saying that our children deserve less than a domestic dog?
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Student Gary – Imagine the outcry if perfectly healthy dogs were destroyed because their owner didn’t have a licence? Would you perform an abortion on a dog because you couldn’t afford the litter? Doubtful – more likely you would take the dog to the animal shelter. Yet abortions of perfectly healthy children are already permitted (and under Pah’s ludicrous “child licence” idea, abortions for economic reasons would be government policy).
So “are you saying that our children deserve less than a domestic dog?” – absolutely not, yet as long as abortions of unborn children continue I will question whether as a society we provide the unborn child with more rights than a domestic dog…
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Student Gary
No im not but the idea of having to get a licence to be have a child is absolutely stupid, having a child is your own choice and it should not be taken away from you just because someone thinks u are unstable without actually seeing u with/cope with a child
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Student Gary
Also I don’t no if you need a licence for most animals but I know you do for a dog but it’s not exactly hard to get one you do not need to prove yourself.
The comments just get worse sometimes I have no idea why some people are suggesting such harsh reactions to this article…. Did most of you read it? You should be happy that the underage birth rate has gone down.
To me it does not matter that 16 year olds are having children they are of age….a consenting age was put in place for a reason so they should not be frowned upon for being young and pregnant because at the end of the day they have done nothing to break the law.
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Well for starters, I don’t care what anybody says, at 16 years old you’re not sufficiently prepared to have children.
How would I marshal my “ridiculous” plan? Well other than immediately raise the legal minimum age to 25, I haven’t really worked out the details, but I can imagine a set of criteria that must be passed, for example:
1) Do you have your own housing?
2) Do you have the means to provide for yourself and your child without state benefits? Select a reasonable budget – say £600 per month for Mother & Baby, plus a £1000 security pot for additional outlay – pushchairs, baby monitors, clothes etc.
3) Will you be prepared to only go out once a month maximum in the next 3 years?
4) In the first 10 years, are you able to provide proper supervision to your children (either through paid childcare) or your own?
5) Have you achieved everything in your life that you realistically expect you’d like that might not be otherwise possible by starting a family?
And so on. Answer no to any of those questions and it’s instant refusal of license.
To be honest, those rules are equally applicable to pet ownership. If you want to adopt an animal from the Animal Aid, they do a home inspection and answer various other questions to ensure you’re suitable to own pets. The same principle is equally valid to having children.
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Well I am 19 and can answer yes to all of those questions so are you telling me I would be refused a licence to have a child? I don’t think so I would go and do it anyway and there is nothing you could do about it because you CANNOT force people to have abortions
Like I said you should be proud at the fact that the underage birth rate has dropped not coming up with stupid ideas to make people retaliate and break the consenting age even more
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Anon: I realy hope this child you plan on having doesnt inherit your rebellious streak and retaliate against all the boundaries you set.
Pah: I know some girls that had children at 15. They adore them and are excellent mothers, but they dont work so their parents pay for their childs, and their grandchildrens upkeep. While i dont think this is fair on the grandparents, the child is still getting a very good upbringing, so how would that factor in your questionnaire?
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GsyGal I don’t have a rebellious streak it’s just what Pah has been suggesting really wound me up because its just ridiculous and I tend to go off on one.
I agree with your second comment to Pah I know plenty of girls who are underage and make excellent mothers and ones who of 16 to my age.
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Anon: if you answer YES to those questions then you get a license. (Except 3 – I got that one wrong. It should be “Are you prepared to go out on your own a maximum of once every month?”) Oh and under my system, at 19, you’re too young.
Oh and as for “you can’t force people to have abortions” – never heard of China?
GsyGal – that situation did cross my mind. I wasn’t sure how to word it so left it out. How many parents who are currently obliged to look after their grandchildren as well as there are children would actually do it out of choice? Surely they’re actually forced to do it in these situations? Which I think is wrong, hence the question about being to provide for yourself and your child. Grandparents are of course welcome to assist, but they should NOT be relied upon. What happens if / when the Grandparents die/retire? Can they still afford to look after the non-working and presumably ill-educated/ill-experienced child who can’t look after their own children?
Bottom line is I’ve never ever understood why people are in such a hurry to grow up. Why would anyone want children at 14/15/16 – heck, children before 25?
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Anon: I Agree Pahs idea is ridiculous. But there is some truth in it. Some children immediately after birth, should be removed from their parents as their parents cannot afford/look after and raise them properly. Be this a 15yr old who is to immature, or a 30yr old that cant afford to look after themselves. Or even someone with mental disabilities (not suggesting all) but if the child was to be at risk.
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GsyGal – personally I think your system is more ridiculous – why allow the person to have the child – to dislocate a child to foster care and to cause 20 (?) years of strain on the welfare system unnecessarily?
You’re applying the same reasoning as I am, just after the fact. Surely it’s far better to do it before and save all the hassle and hardship?
And as for the “it’s not about money / you don’t need money to have children” argument – what? Of course you do! Everyone needs money. Notice that in my manifesto, I set the lower limit at a “sensible” amount – I don’t know what it is – but I never said you need a massive amount of money.
Anyone who thinks you and your child can live for free is deluded. Unless you’re the type of person who thinks it is your God-given right to live off the system. And it is exactly these people who I think should not be having children and I would be targetting with my outlandish system.
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GsyGal and Pah I also agree that Pah does have some truth but I don’t agree with the way he is set about it…by the questions he would ask how could he judge if someone is capable of looking after a child without actually seeing them look after that child how can you judge that someone is too immature for a child?
Also I didn’t mean that you can have a child with no money but I meant I no people that don’t have much money and survive just find with children meaning alot of money isn’t everything. I don’t know how they do it because I wouldn’t be able to live off the states money on my own let alone with a child therefore I am thankful that I have the job I do.
you can’t force people to have abortions” – never heard of China? – That would never even be considered in Guernsey I think we can all agree on that.
GsyGal I agree with your point — Some children immediately after birth, should be removed from their parents as their parents cannot afford/look after and raise them properly. Be this a 15yr old who is to immature, or a 30yr old that cant afford to look after themselves. Or even someone with mental disabilities (not suggesting all) but if the child was to be at risk.–
I am completely against abortions so if I was to not want my unborn child or felt that I could not cope I would prefer to take this approach then kill an unborn child.
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Anon – it’s interesting that I you assume I am a ‘he’.
Why are my basic criteria for determining if someone is suitable to look after a child so ridiculous? Money, roof, basic sense of responsibilitie? Surely those are the basic tenets of a good parent? Prove me wrong, please!
Finally, if you are the type of person who is completely against abortions, then don’t get pregnant if you don’t want children. It’s that simple! Just because you’re not responsible enough to take the proper precautions, why should I (as a taxpayer) have to pay for your mistake? (fyi, that’s hypothetical/rhetorical)
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just raise the age for sex to 18 and be done with it. 18 to drive as well. 21 to drink and you must die by 85 as we wont be able to afford the healthcare in the future….something like soylent green or logans run would be a good start…..
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Pah – apologies if ur not a he and I offended you I didn’t even realise I put it.
One reason which makes me think it’s ridiculous because you put have your own housing now why do you have to have your own housing? It wont make you any less responsible just because you may still live with you parents, what if someone said they planned on moving out? It shouldn’t matter as long as there is a roof over their heads surely.
And all the things you have mentioned are the basics but you could ‘give a licence’ to someone that has all those and they turn out to be a total nutcase a few months down the line…. you can’t always judge people on ‘first appearances’
There are some situations where it just can’t be helped..you know there are some sick people out there if you get where I am coming from. I totally agree I don’t think I should be paying for peoples mistakes either and people should take more precautions and I am not saying that everyone out there is good parents etc its just I don’t agree with your idea at all.
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