10-year-olds among teenagers found pregnant in Sarawak

KUCHING: Almost all – up to 96% – of the 2,099 teenage pregnancies in Sarawak last year involved school dropouts, the state government said.

Welfare, community wellbeing, women, family and childhood development minister Fatimah Abdullah said the cases involved children as young as 10 years.

She said the factors included promiscuity, rape, influence of drugs and substances, lack of sex education and exposure to social media.

Although the number had dropped from 3,401 in 2014, she said, the ministry was compiling an integrated social intervention directory on school dropouts to address the problems they faced.

It would also introduce programmes to reduce stigmatisation of unwed mothers, provide access to sexual and reproductive health services for teens, sex education and intervention.

Fatimah said stigma attached to unwed or young mothers and lack of emotional support from family members also resulted in baby dumping due to shame and fear.

She said a total of 41 baby dumping cases were reported from 2014 to 2020.