Seven Bosnian girls ages 13 and 14 reportedly wound up pregnant after returning from a five-day school trip, sparking a nationwide discussion on sex education in the country’s schools.
A school in the town of Banja Luka took 28 girls to the Bosnia and Herzegovina capital, Sarajevo, for a five-day visit to museums and other historical sites, according to reports. Since returning, seven of the 28 girls have dropped out of classes to tend to new pregnancies, the Daily Mail said.
Outraged parents are demanding answers as to why their children were not better supervised. The national coordinator for reproductive health of the republic, Nenad Babici, argued, however, that the parents are more to blame for not teaching their children about safe sex, the Daily Mail reported.
Senad Mehmedbasic, a gynecologist from Sarajevo, said underage pregnancies are “the trend of today,” and that “educational institutes” should also play a bigger role in sex education.
“It is obvious that children do not have enough knowledge of health education so they engage in such activities, not knowing the consequences,” he told the Daily Mail.
“We have to be more direct in the educational system, it must not be allowed that street teaches children about intimate matters, and that they are later slapped by life,” he added.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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