This type of situation just exemplifies how increasingly important it is that young girls, maybe even as young as 9 or 10, be aware of what goes on with their bodies. I am all for children not growing up too fast and I don't think 4th graders should be driven over the head with facts about sex and their bodies, but it should be incorporated into the curriculum, gradually, beginning at a young age so that by the time a girl is 12 and likely phyiscally able to reproduce, she has a clue what is going with her body, what the result of certain actions are and what her options are if that result does not comply with her personal situation. The education of young women is a root of issues like this and it's something that could, in theory, gradually be remedied. Unfortunately, many towns don't have the funding or support to ever do anything like this and I am positive that many parents wouldn't be on board as well.
|