Advocates Push for Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Calls for the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) resonated during a recent scientific conference that gathered population, demography, and social science experts to discuss the dynamics of population and education.

Hundreds of participants attended the 2025 Philippine Population Association International Scientific Conference at Bicol University on March 6-7, 2025, where researchers and experts presented studies on adolescent reproductive health, early pregnancies, and career development using data, practices, and policy insights.

Dr. Juan Antonio Perez III, vice president of the Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum), highlighted alarming data on early pregnancies.

“The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has just recently reported that an eight-year-old girl gave birth in Mindanao,” Dr. Perez said in one of the sessions.

He noted that since 2018, when adolescent pregnancy was declared a national emergency, the number of pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14 has been steadily increasing.

“Girls 10 to 14 years old who became mothers have been the focus of this movement because their numbers have been increasing,” he added.

In 2019, two out of every 100 girls aged 10 to 17 had already given birth, leaving them with the burden of solo parenthood.

In 2023, the PSA reported that one in every 10 pregnancies occurred among teen girls, with 3,343 girls under 15 years old recorded as first-time mothers.

Dr. Perez stressed that adolescent pregnancies pose serious health risks, including complications during pregnancy and delivery, as well as low birth weights for their infants.

“We are looking at all these data that show us the need for CSE to prevent early pregnancies, help young people delay sexual activity, address coercion and abuse, and provide social protection,” he said.

Dr. Elma Laguna, director of the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), supported the call for CSE implementation.

“CSE is a valid issue, and we have all the data and evidence to support this call,” Dr. Laguna said.

Beyond adolescent reproductive health, the conference also tackled the mental and emotional toll of bullying in schools, families, and communities.

Discussions also covered best practices in governance, life cycle transitions and aging, the role of culture and religion in sexuality discourse, and the effects of migration on population trends.