High number of teenage pregnancies in Fiji not surprising - Ali

The Director of the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre Shamima Ali, says the high number of teenage pregnancies in Fiji nowadays is not surprising.

While speaking to Fijivillage, Ali says this is in relation to the complaints that they have received from parents who seem to no longer have control over their children.

She says this problem is not going to go away as some cases the girls were victims of incest.

The Director says the Fiji Womens Crisis centre conducted a National Survey on family violence in Fiji and found out that about 16% of women surveyed said that they had their first sexual experience before the age of 15.

Ali says teenage pregnancy needs to be addressed very realistically with teachers talking about it comfortably in schools and even parents to their children.

She says parents play a vital role in this issue as in most cases parents are away from home for religious and family gathering and children are left alone with no monitoring.

Ali says parents need to prioritise where their responsibility lies.

Shocking statistics was released as the National Substance Abuse Advisory Council has confirmed that 19 cases of teenage pregnancies were recorded in primary schools last year.

A total of 47 cases of teenage pregnancies recorded in schools last year of which 19 cases were recorded in primary schools and 28 cases were recorded in secondary schools.

This data is from 400 out of over 700 schools in Fiji.