When we catch a teenage couple having sex in a hidden spot outdoors, do we really have to force the girl to see a psychiatrist? She’s young, not mentally ill. Do we really have to ARREST the boy? He’s not a criminal, but guilty only of being young and thrill-seeking. Granted, the teens who were caught by the police with their hands in other places than the cookie jar at La Citadelle were too young for comfort, 13 and 16 respectively. But if we think that the problem of early sexual debuts can be solved by locking up the “culprits” or treating them as mental health patients, we are dead, dead, dead wrong.  

Let’s not pretend that we don’t remember what it felt like, those tentative times when we first discovered that touching another person could be like a visit to Disneyland or like having chocolate for breakfast, only better. We can live to experience 90 and still remember all our firsts. Now, imagine that the state ruined those memories for you by arresting you or admitting you to a hospital. If the misadventure didn’t prevent you from having a normal socio-sexual development, you would be lucky.

We agree upon the goals. On the wish list are fewer teen pregnancies, less sexual abuse and a higher debut age – all of which are reasonable aims. Thirteen-year-olds are not emotionally mature enough for sex, which is why teens who debut early are more likely to lead unhealthy lifestyles later on (in terms of drinking, smoking and antisocial behaviour), according to a study from Sweden. However, to treat premature sexual curiosity as a crime/disease rather than as a bad decision is not an approach that will help us reach the goals.

In fact, as a country, we keep taking steps in the opposite direction. Proper sex education has a documented positive effect on curbing teen pregnancies and the spreading of STDs but, in this country, we are still squeamish about it. NGOs on the field report that even the local universities – who deal with adults, not kids – are so misguidedly conservative that they don’t allow any talk about condoms on campus. The police does what it can through occasional awareness campaigns in schools but it’s largely inadequate, mainly consisting of girls dancing Sega on stage followed by a short speech by an officer.

While teens are arrested for sneaking out and sleeping together, adults in this country who touch little kids (child molesters) can get away with paying a fine and carry on with their lives. A fine for having sexually abused a kid! Last but not least, the authority that is supposed to run to the rescue of damaged children, the Ministry of Gender Equality’s Child Protection Unit, is severely understaffed. In a system where there are enough resources to arrest foolish teenagers for making bad decisions, but not enough to go after the real abusers, something is spine-chillingly wrong.

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