Some of her friends who did not go to school are already married. Boys are finding her very attractive. Some older men with money offer to buy her nice things her parents cannot afford, but they are also interested in sex. So is her uncle who has attempted to molest her. About half of the world's population is under age 20.
Adolescents are at the highest risk of sexual and reproductive health problems.
Many of their pregnancies are unwanted and many result in abortion, yet only 17 per cent of sexually active adolescents use any form of contraception. Estimates are that 1 in 20 adolescents contracts a sexually transmitted disease each year. Two million girls undergo female genital cutting every year, also with high rates of mortality. Girls and young women are especially vulnerable to rape, sexual abuse, harassment and sexual exploitation. In pre-industrial societies early marriage and childbearing were the norm.