A lot of effort has been used in trying to help the girl child fit comfortably in the current society. Although it has been successful, the celebration has been cut short by emerging challenges faced by female teenagers. The major challenge faced by these teenagers globally is early teenage pregnancy and the Hispanic girls are the ones most affected. The number of teenage pregnancies being recorded in the Hispanic community has just gone up, “worst yet, the number of pregnancies among Hispanic girls has increased ” (Rodriguez- Lopez and Diario par. 4 ). Despite the wide array of birth control methods, Hispanic girls continue to get pregnant. This leaves a simple option, sex education should be given a firsthand priority within Hispanic families. This may give the Hispanic teenagers knowledge that will enable them to make a positive decision that will assist them to avoid unprotected sex and hence early pregnancy.
Education is important to every single person because it makes one knowledgeable and it keeps one occupied. Some of the learning conditions for these girls are not manageable and some of the girls find themselves dropping out of school. Since they lack something better to do, they engage themselves in early sexual practices and do not consider using protection, due to either naivety or just ignorance. Hence, the number of cases of teen pregnancy continues to rise due to a lack of knowledge and giving up on education.
Most Hispanic families are not comfortable economically; this may cause teenage girls to try to look for ways to make quick money. Since sexual activities tend to be one of the fastest ways to make easy money, many girls jump on this opportunity. During these sexual activities, the girls may tend to be careless or illiterate when it comes to birth control thus, fall victim to early teenage pregnancy.
Sexual activities among teenagers have become a current trend and due to peer pressure and media influence, most teenagers engage in these activities. Some of these teenagers may engage in sexual activities while under the influence of alcohol or other forms of drugs. In the Hispanic communities, drugs are easily accessible and while engaging in sexual activities under influence, they may not remember to use any form of protection.
Some of the Hispanic girls might be having emotional issues from either abuse or just low self-esteem. If the girl has experienced sexual abuse from a relative or just a stranger, this may take a toil on her causing her to engage in sexual activities at an early age. This is caused by low self-esteem too, where they may think that these activities will make them feel better about themselves.
In some of the Hispanic cultures, they do not openly discuss sexual issues with their children hence; they are naïve when it comes to sex and protection. They are not at ease with discussing the topic “the Latino community is hesitant to talk about the subject, in public or at home” (McCartney par. 8). Some parents may think that discussing sex with their children may encourage them to practice it. Discussing these issues with the children may help them learn many things that may not be so obvious to them.
Considering the mentioned causes of teenage pregnancy among Hispanic teenagers, it is possible to argue that only sex education for these families can serve as a remedy. For instance, they drop out of school for lack of funds. This means that they might not be accessible to formal education. In addition, it has been pointed out that discussing sex is a matter of little concern within these families. With such an environment, teenage sex has become a normal phenomenon. Girls become sex experts as early as age twelve. This means that the situation calls for a total change of culture. This can only happen if the families are introduced to sex education. With this, the girls who happen to drop out of school might have the opportunity to learn about sexuality. This will also change the perspective of refusing to discuss the issue in Hispanic families. As a result, the girls will be in a position to understand their bodies and hence avoid the practice.
In general, sexually active girls are at risk of getting unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Although the rate of pregnant Hispanic teenagers is on the rise, it has to do with factors such as poverty, pressure from peers, and illiteracy on sex-related topics. As a matter of remedy, Hispanic families should be subjected to family sex education so that these teenagers can be empowered with sex knowledge. With this, they will be in a position to use protection measures and hence avoid early pregnancy.
Works Cited
McCartney, Robert. “Montgomery County Youths Take on Hispanic Teen Pregnancy.” The Washington Post, 2010. Web.
Rodriguez-Lopez, Lillian and El Diario. “Voices That Must Be Heard.” 2006. Web.