Teen self-destructive behavior & risky sex in South Africa

Staying in abusive relationships

Gender-based violence is common in South Africa. Every one in three girls might end up in an abusive relationship. An abusive relationship is when you enter a relationship and your romantic partner shows aggression towards you. They could violently attack you, psychologically attack you or verbally attack you. Usually, people involved in abusive relationships find it difficult to leave.. People aged 12-19 have the higher rate of reported rape and sexual assault in a relationship. 90% of the abuse victims in relationships are women because they believe it is their fault and that they deserve to be abused. People stay in abusive relationships because the society today makes it seem like it is normal to be in a relationship like this. So people may not understand the difference between a healthy relationship and a unhealthy relationship. Getting emotionally abused lowers your self-esteem so you feel like you can not do better or get into another relationship after the recent one. When your partner abuses you he or she will apologize and make it seem like they will not harm you again to make you stay in the relationship. Sorry, it is dangerous to leave an abusive relationship because the abusive partner might kill you or people you care deeply for so it makes it difficult to leave. In an abusive relationship, there is a cycle of control and sometimes it is hard to break away from the control of your abusive lover. The victim in the relationship feels like they deserve the abuse because their partner makes them feel guilty for the victim being abused. Usually, when a person is in an abusive relationship they shy away from spending time with friends and sometimes family. The victim's style of clothing changes from how they usually dress. A victim of physical abuse will change their clothing to cover up bruising and injuries so people don’t know what is happening. The abuser will often sometimes use rough language or be aggressive with the victim. The victim will not admit that she or he is in an abusive relationship and change the subject. They become more reserved. The individual development post-traumatic stress and becomes depressed because of this. In most cases, the victim will commit suicide just to be free of the abuse. The people around the victim become worried and try to help him or her which in most cases makes the victim's situation worse. The abuser's family will live in denial if they have never seen this side of them.

Substance abuse disorder

Substance abuse is when you take drugs constantly and feel like you are unable to stop. Substance abuse includes alcohol and drugs. Drug abuse can cause serious problems. You can get a type of drug-related cancer or sickness from drug abuse. Alcohol is only legal for those over the age of 18 in South Africa. From grade 8-11 there are large amounts of teenagers who drink or smoke under the legal age. What causes teenagers to start abusing drugs is something peer pressure. Their peers who are older or have tried the drug before might bully them into taking the drug causing them to get addicted to it and start abusing it. Teenagers' home life can also influence how they are around drugs. If in their home life they are surrounded by drugs or alchemy and have easy access they might experiment with the drug and eventually get addicted. Society today glamorizes and normalizes the usage and over usage of drugs. Teenagers will see their favorite actors or actresses taking drugs or favorite singers or rappers taking drugs and think it is normal for them to also partake in such activities. Some teenage children take drugs to “get away” from their problems or to relax from stress. Some take drugs as a faster way to drop weight. Low self-esteem makes a teen turn to drugs for comfort. Most teenagers get an allowance and can afford to get drugs for themselves but when their money runs out for the month they turn to theft. They could steal from their parents or cell their gifts and items just to afford the drugs. The effects of the drugs when the teen is high or alcohol when a teen is drunk could cause them to act put violently and potentially kill someone. People around the teen start to become negatively affected because of the teen's behavior. If the teen suffers from withdrawal they become aggressive and sometimes violently act out. People will try to help the teen by having an intervention or send them to rehab which could cause the teen to run away from home and worsen the situation

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High-risk unsafe exploit

Unsafe sexual relations amongst South African teenagers 54% of people in South Africa have admitted to practicing unsafe sex. Unsafe sex is when your sexual partner in a relationship doesn’t use a condom and the or take contraceptives. Some teenagers have engaged in unsafe sex before the age of 16 and 18. 10% of males in high school have admitted to having more than one sexual partner at a time. 60% of the youth have admitted to almost never using condoms and contraceptives. Some teenagers go into prostitution for money to either support their families or pay for their education. Teens have unsafe sex because of peer pressure, passion of the moment, media, and because the male and females are underage they are embarrassed to buy condoms or contraceptives so they don’t buy protection. Having unprotected sex can cause the teen to have an STD/ STI. Unprotected sexual relationships can also cause teen pregnancy. The parents of the teenager will eventually find out about their teen having an STI or becoming pregnant. Some parents will not help their teens take care of their children. Some parents kick their teens put the house because they have an STD or have come home with a pregnancy. Most teen males will not go back to their sexual partners to help them take care of their children. They move on and don’t help the teen mother. When the teen female or male goes to inform their parents of the std/sti they cause conflict between two parents because they do not believe their teen would have had the illness if it wasn’t for the other teen. Sometimes a teen who has fallen pregnant will look for a way to get a cheap and easy abortion without their parents finding out. So they undergo a dangerous procedure which could cause the teen to never be able to fall pregnant later on in life sometimes during this the teen could go through some complications or pass away. Society Glamorizes unsafe sex so teens think that it is okay to be having sex without protection at a young age. Teens sometimes feel pressured to have unsafe sex to be able to “fit in” with their age group or friend group. Some teens have unsafe sex to become popular amongst their friend groups at school and outside of school. Unsafe sex has become normalized because of the way it is portrayed in films and music videos. So teens feel obligated to have sexual intercourse with multiple partners or without protection because that is what is “cool” and that is how you will get “popular”. The media does not focus on the risks of having unsafe sex and that is why teens feel like having unsafe sex or multiple sex partner is okay and safe. On social media having children is also glamorized and normalized so teens think it is okay

Reference list

Staying in an abusive relationship

1. https://www.mobieg.co.za/abuse/teen-dating-violence/
2. https://www.joinonelove.org/learn/why_leaving_abuse_is_hard/
3. https://www.safehorizon.org/safe-horizon-in-the-news/abusive-relationship-signs/

Substance abuse disorder

1. https://m.health24.com/Lifestyle/Street-drugs/About-recreational-drugs/see-60-of-sa-teens-have-been-drunk-20170628
2. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/substance-abuse
3. https://drugabuse.com/11-real-reasons-teenagers-experiment-drugs/

High-risk unsafe exploits

1. Unsafe sexual relations amongst South African Teenagers
2. https://m.parent24.com/Family/Parenting/infographic-is-south-africas-youth-practising-safe-sex-20180220
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12435558/
4. https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/200386.html