Adolescent girls, illegal abortions and "sugar-daddies" in Dar es Salaam: vulnerable victims and active social agents

Adolescent girls' early sexual activity, early pregnancy, induced abortions and the increase in HIV infections have become major concerns in Sub-Sahar an Africa. Efforts, though, to understand their sexual behaviour and to pre vent reproductive health problems are almost non-existent. Adolescent girls are normally seen as victims and easy preys of (often older and married) m en's sexual exploitation. This article, which is based on a qualitative stu dy of 51 adolescent girls who had just had an illegal abortion in Dar es Sa laam, Tanzania, reveals that these girls are not only victims but also will ing preys and active social agents engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour. In order to get material benefits they expose themselves to serious health risks, including induced abortion - without realising their own vulnerabili ty. In our study, one out of four girls had more than one partner at the ti me they became pregnant, and many counted on an illegally induced abortion if they got pregnant. Even if adolescents are now allowed free access to fa mily planning information, education and services, our study shows that thi s remains in the realm of theory rather than practice. Moreover, most adole scent girls are not aware about their right to such services. The paper con cludes that the vulnerability of adolescent girls increases without the rec ognition that sexuality education and contraceptive services do not constit ute a licence to practice illicit sex - but rather a means to create more m ature and responsible attitudes acid to increase sexual and reproductive he alth. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.