Report on teen pregnancy in Panama

In the midst of Panama’s continued debate on how to tackle the topic of sexual education in schools, the country has released a report from 2014, revealing some grim statistics.

The report entitled “Live births of the Republic” was issued by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo of the Contraloría General de la República (National Institute of Statistics and Census of the Office of the Comptroller General of Panama) reveals that during 2014 at least two 14-year-old girls gave birth to their third child in Panama. 22 girls under 15 had their second baby, and 645 girls below the age of 15 had their first child. These numbers do not include the so-called hidden figures, for example, cases not reported.  

In Panama, every 12 hours a child is a victim of sexual abuse, which was revealed by the statistical report. In 2014, 728 minors were treated for sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence, this average of one case reported every 12 hours does not include cases that went unreported.

Click here for the full report - Live births of the Republic in 2014