‘Love, nurture teenage girls unconditionally’

Chief Superintendent of Prisons (CSP) and Head of Commercial Unit at the Senior Correctional Cen­tre in Accra, Ms Helen Korkor Quarcoo, has asked parents to unconditionally love and nurture their teenage girls in order to have that sense of belonging and make them feel safe at home.

She made the call in an interview at the “Access to Agency: Empowering women through digital inclusion” conference held in Accra recently.

According to the Senior Officer, most teenage preg­nancies usually occur due to some emotional challenges which makes the teen girls go out searching for love and affection that is not provided at home.

Sharing more insights, CSP Quarcoo was of the view that teenage pregnancy could be a form of trauma response to emotional starvation which has huge repercussion on the girl child both physically and psychologically.

“Some of these teenage children living in the villages and remote areas who are not loved at home usually get brainwashed by false love from some irresponsible area boys/men who later impreg­nates them and run away,” she narrated.

CSP Quarcoo said teenage pregnancy was a complex issue associated with various factors including the absence of emotional needs.

Stressing on emotional needs, she indicated that teenage girls may seek love, attention or validation through relationships that may potentially lead to teen­age pregnancies.

The Senior Officer further stated that lack of self-worth as a result of no-love shown at home leads to low self-es­teem or feelings of worth­lessness.

She said it could be a con­tributive factor to promiscu­ous behaviours resulting in unprotected sex.

Additionally, Mrs Quarcoo underscored that it was important to approach the heart-wrenching issues of teenage pregnancy with empathy and understanding or recognising the unique circumstances and challenges each girl faces.

She called for supportive services, conscious education and dedicated resources to be invested in helping teen­age girls navigate through these complex issues.

Moreover, the Chief Super­intendent of Prisons noted that empowerment of teen­age girls and building their self-esteem is another way of fighting teenage pregnancies.

“Fostering positive self-im­age, worth and life skills through education, mentor­ship and community engage­ment, would positively help work towards achieving a low rate of teenage pregnancies and promote healthier out­comes for teenage girls”, she indicated.

 By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah