Use data for stronger systems, responsive communities to protect children – UNICEF

UNICEF Jamaica wishes to clarify reported statements made in Parliament about Jamaica’s school dropout rate due to teenage pregnancy, and a recommendation about increasing the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 years old, which may give a misleading impression about our data on the former and our position on the latter.

The June 2021 Public Expenditure Review of the Education Sector in Jamaica, published by UNICEF and the World Bank points out that in Jamaica, school attendance among children up to 16 years is almost universal, that is, close to 100 per cent.

The percentage of 17 to 21-year-olds who did not complete secondary education (11^th grade) and were not enrolled in formal education, declined from 14 per cent in 2010 to 10 per cent in 2017, according to Jamaica’s Survey of Living Conditions. The report notes that in 2017 therefore, about 90 per cent of 17 to 21-year-olds had completed education to at least 11^th grade or were otherwise enrolled in formal education.

A breakdown of those who had dropped out of the system reveals that only seven per cent of females (and 14 per cent of males) did not reach grade 11. Among girls and young women, the main reason given for not completing their education to grade 11 level was “pregnancy”, followed by “money problems.”

Despite the misunderstanding of this data, the issues raised in Parliament point to two serious challenges facing Jamaican girls:

1. The coercion or luring of many girls, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, into early sexual activity by older adults who provide money, goods or favours in exchange for sex, and
2. The inability of many girls to continue their education because of early pregnancy.

The objective of the minimum age of sexual consent is to protect adolescents from sexual abuse and from the consequences of early sexual activity on their rights and development, including their right to an education. Most Caribbean countries have set the minimum age of consent at 16.

UNICEF recommends that the legal minimum age for sexual consent should take in the evolving capacities of adolescents and balance this with their protection. UNICEF also recommends that close in age exceptions be made when it comes to sexual activity between two adolescents.  In fact, a Joint Select Committee of Parliament deliberated the issue in 2018 and agreed that close in age exceptions should be considered under the law.

Based on this guidance, and on our focus on protecting the rights of every child, UNICEF believes the following considerations are critical in protecting our girls from sexual abuse and exploitation and in ensuring their right to an education:

• Ensuring every child in Jamaica is protected from sexual abuse and exploitation through enactment and enforcement of robust legislation like the Child Care and Protection Act, building strong child protection agencies and fostering responsive and caring families, communities, and social institutions.
• Providing every Jamaican child with access to relevant knowledge and life skills programmes which help in safe and healthy decision making.  
• Ensuring every girl who becomes pregnant can continue and complete her secondary level education through strengthening and expanding the work of programmes such as the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF), which has been an effective and long-standing partner of UNICEF Jamaica.

UNICEF welcomes the willingness of decision-makers to discuss the issues but appeals to them to ensure a complete understanding of the data available.

UNICEF further asks that the data be used to improve systems to give children adequate information about sexual health and inter-personal relationships, provide access to health services and counselling, ensure access to continued education and protect them from abuse and exploitation.