Sabrina Espinal

Aisha- Sidibe

November 9, 2018

FIQWS 101

Title: Dominican Republic and Sex Education

Abstract:  I believe that adolescence in general is a very important period for the development of the individual and their country, and for this reason I find necessary that the Dominican youth should receive a high quality education that includes classes regarding to sexual and mental education. I believe as well that the Dominican Republic Educational System is lacking and it is in need of a program that offers a realistic and reliable health and reproductive education to the youth due to the lack of awareness of the consequences of having unsafe and unprepared intimate relations, and because of the country’s high rates of teenage 

pregnancy, regional and world-wide viewed.

Introduction: Teenage pregnancy in the Dominican Republic is between 25 and 30 percent, in 2013 around 105 out of 1,000 girls got pregnant between 15-19 years. The problem behind all of this is that parents and educational institutions are not educating teens about how to protect themselves from not just unexpected pregnancies, but about their mental, sexual and physical health. In 2017, the Dominican Republic posses 34% of teenage pregnancies, which is the higher rate compared to the average for Latin America and the Caribbean countries, double the world’s average and triple in the United States. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in an article by the Futurist it is mentioned that, pregnancy is one of the leading causes of teen death in the Dominican Republic due to the lack of awareness on their bodies and mental health.

Research Question:  Why does in the Dominican Republic sex education remains as a taboo  and teens are hardly taught about it if it is something that is clearly that is affecting them?  Does the Dominican Republic social and cultural perception of sexuality influences the way sexual education is talked about?

Thesis: Many parents in the Dominican Republic say that kids are too young to be focusing and taught about sexuality and it is better to maintain them abstinent and out of sexual association. However, The Dominican Republic has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy of Latin America. Explaining the importance of addressing sexual and reproductive health to young and adults will guide them to make advised and prepared decisions for their present and future life choices. In the same way, the program will also help on cutting other sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, while cutting the cycle of ignorance that has been implanted in the Dominican Society, if not kids would inherit their parents “bad habits” and keep this bad cycle running for years.

Research Methodology: I would use government  and organization sites, timelines and videos that include testimonies of experts and teenagers/students.

Bibliography:

  “Experts call the Dominican teen pregnancy alarming”. San Diego Union Tribune: Hoy. September 26. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/hoy-san-diego This article helped me obtain data about the dominican teenage pregnancies as well as a “personal” insight to the problem, due to that it included interviews to some of the pregnant teens.

Escobar, Emma and Roffe, Jessica. “Theology and Sex Education with Hispanics/ Latinos”. Boston University of Theology.  This article helped me understand some of the reasons of why many dominican parents, but specially Latinxs in general fear talking to their kids about sexuality. In addition, it showed the role that religion plays in this issue. http://www.bu.edu/shaw/theology-and-sex-education-with-hispanicslatinos/

“70% of students in Latin America do not have access to comprehensive access to sexual education”. Plataforma Regional: América Latina y el Caribe. April 03.  In this source, professionals and agencies directors explain some of the reasons of the lack of comprehensive sex education in Latin America. https://plataformalac.org/en/2017/04/70-of-students-in-latin-america-do-not-have-comprehensive-access-to-sexual-education/

Sanchez, Erica and Rendo, Maria. “Teen Pregnancies Remain Stubbornly High in Latin America: Report”. Global Citizen: Girls&Women. May 04, 2018. This article informed me about the social pressure girls in Latin America tend to receive from society, as well as informing me of the lack of information it is provided to kids at school.

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/teen-pregnancies-in-latin-america/

Nozicka, Luke. “Lesson Unplanned: Teenage Pregnancy in the Dominican Republic”. Pulitzer Center: Story. June 15, 2015. This article helped me obtain information about the teenage girls of the Dominican Republic, and their opinion over them becoming mothers at a real young age. Moreover, this paper provides their opinion over the educational system of the Dominican Republic. rehttps://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/lesson-unplanned-teenage-pregnancy-dominican-republic#slideshow-0

Unknown author. “Peers May Help Reduce Teen Pregnancy: Programs bring sex education to underserved areas.” World Trends and Forecasts: The Futurist. (January-February 2013).  This peer review article talks about the importance of a home education. It argues that kids tend to follow and commit the same actions their parents did, therefore they suggest that sex education should be taught at households so kids can be well informed of a topic that is commonly altered.

(Peers_May_Help_Reduce_Teen_Pre.PDF)

 

Audience: Dominican Adolescents, Health Department, Latin American and Caribbean, Reproductive Health.