Summary

• The framing of pregnancy amongst adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) is predominantly negative, referred to as a “problem” in need of intervention.
• The framing of teenage pregnancy in social discourse influences the way in which AGYW are treated, the extent to which they are supported, and to which they are able to engage with services and enact pregnancy prevention behaviours.
• This paper unpacks narratives of blame attribution surrounding teenage pregnancy in two communities in South Africa, highlighting the implications of these narratives and their relevance to policy and interventions.
• Policies, interventions and programmes focusing on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health need to carefully consider the framing and narratives of blame and responsibility.
• There is an urgent need to shift away from the individualised moralistic shaming of pregnant AGYW, towards a recognition of a complex interplay of multilevel factors that enable or constrain AGYW’s agency.
• Policies and programmes should focus on both providing sufficient support to AGYW, while also addressing structural factors and harmful narratives and thus create the conditions necessary to enable AGYW to enact safe, informed, empowered and responsible decisions and behaviours about their own sexual and reproductive health.

View the complete Who is to blame for the ‘problem’ of teenage pregnancy? – Framing blame in policy and practice Research Brief.