A young man who feels he has nothing to lose takes risks to the level of self-destruction. The risks he takes range from breaking the law to practising unsafe sex. The adolescent urge to break away from rules and regulations is part of testing new independence. Peer-pressure can exaggerate the impulse to take risks, however. And societies worldwide do little to help, punishing delinquency like criminality and shunning teens whose experiments turn out all wrong.
Young people count on adults for support.
They count on adults to create opportunities for them to develop their potential. By providing access to counselling, information, education and health services, adults can prove to young people that their trust will not always be betrayed. The Sabiny Elders Association was awarded the 1998 United Nations Population Award for dramatically curtailing female genital mutilation in its area of northern Uganda. The Association was formed in 1992, bringing together the elders of the 161 Sabiny clans to promote the development of the Sabiny, to preserve its language and its culture, and to improve the welfare of the Sabiny people.