'Save the children! Save the children!' Isn't that what their last few years of contrarianism and disinformation was all done under the guise of? Now here she is complaining about falling teenage pregnancy rates. I've not had time to look much into it, but the period she talks about coincides with active efforts and programmes to reduce teen pregnancies. There was an increase in education and awareness regarding consent, contraception, etc. There was more awareness amongst teens regarding their right to visit a GP and get contraceptives (without parents if necessary) - I don't remember being specifically informed of that as a teen in the 2000s. We have a generation that drinks less alcohol (evidenced by some student unions closing some of their bars, etc.) which is also a age group that was much more likely to be pushed towards thinking about their futures and Higher Education, etc. regardless of their background. There was much less unemployment in that group during that period (and in more deprived areas and those with higher unemployment there was higher teen pregnancy rates). It's is also a generation of teens who have actually been much less likely to socialise in person regularly. I know I was out quite regularly, listening to my older nieces and nephews now they are out very occasionally and are much more likely to spend all night in their rooms speaking via gaming headphones or connected to their friends via a social media app videocalling. When they are out, it seems to be very much in groups, even if they have "partners" so it just seems to be a completely different social dynamic to when I was a teen.
There is less social housing so the idea that pregnancy was a route to housing is gone for many and I can imagine that being drummed into kids already living in cramped and/or chaotic environments.
Maybe kids have become much more aware of grooming too and less are being impregnated by older men.
But I did read something that showed that in the last year or 2, their has been a slight increase in rates again... education programmes being cut? Increased exposure to online content because so many have tech in their hands all day that parents aren't checking? The rise in popularity of a dubious brother currently in Romania?
or there is enough evidence there of someone with significant illness doing nothing about it meaning their kids are not necessarily in a stable environment.
