Revealing Stats on Teen Sex & Those Who Considered Suicide

11-21-2010 Virgin Islands:

Last year, the Ministry of Health and Social Development conducted a Global School-based Health Survey among students in forms 1 - 5 across the Territory. It was discovered that 35.7 percent of the students admitted ever having sexual intercourse and among them, 76 percent had started before age 14.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Petrona N. Davies who disclosed the figures, said 35 percent of the students reported being in a physical fight during the past 12 months and 33.4 percent had consumed alcohol within the past month.

She said among students who ever used drugs, 81.8 percent first used drugs before age 14, and 15.7 percent of students reported that they had seriously considered suicide.

The Permanent Secretary during her remarks on Friday afternoon following a unity march against child abuse, asked the question - how much of the latter malignant despair can be traced back to physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment?

Davies said the people must hold the Government accountable for upholding the tenets and principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was signed by the UK in 1991 and extended to the VI in September 1994.

"You must also insist that we demonstrate practical efforts to strengthen child protection services in our community, in order to safeguard vulnerable children and young people."

Meanwhile, it was stated that international research provides mounting evidence that child mistreatment is the precursor to many of the major social problems facing society today.

Davies reiterated that each resident must play a more active role in promoting and respecting the rights of the child, and do their part to contribute to the prevention of child abuse.

"Preventing child abuse is therefore everyone´s responsibility. Each of us has the power to intervene if we feel a child is being abused or neglected. It is our moral and ethical responsibility, and legal obligation to report suspected abuse. And if we find ourselves perpetrating abusive acts or threats against the children in our own lives, we owe it to our children and ourselves to seek and obtain help," the Permanent Secretary stated. ..Source.. by Melissa French, Staff Reporter