Fatimah presenting Dr Zufar with the OSTPC certificate during the closing ceremony of the seminar.
KUCHING: Around 73 per cent of men involved in teenage pregnancies cases in the state last year fall in the 20-39 age group.
This was disclosed by Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah who pointed out that this percentage involved 904 cases.
“This is followed by 316 cases (26 per cent) where the couples fall in the 10-19 age group category and there are also men in the above 40 age group involving 17 cases (one per cent),” she told reporters after officiating the closing ceremony of ‘Remaja Kita … Berilah Mereka Peluang’ seminar at a hotel here yesterday.
According to her, a majority of these cases were consensual and that statutory rape cases were in fact rare.
“Statutory rape happens when the girl is age 16 and below and the perpetrator is an adult. But one of the challenges we face is when the teenage girl falls pregnant, her parents would want her to get married.
“By right it is statutory rape, but usually the parents do not want to charge the perpetrator because he will go to jail and their daughter will have no husband, while their grandchild will have no father. So that becomes an issue,” she explained.
Nevertheless, she said the ministry would continue in its concerted effort to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in Sarawak by 20 per cent each year.
On the seminar, Fatimah said it was organised to create awareness amongst community leaders, teachers, and NGOs to be aware of the issues and problems regarding teenage pregnancies.
“During the seminar, we also touched on the One Stop Teenage Pregnancy Committee (OSTPC) which was formed in October 2014 to strengthen inter-agency cooperation in tackling the issue of teenage pregnancies in the state holistically.”
Also present was Sibu Division (Social) Deputy Resident Dr Zufar Yadi Brendan Abdullah.