What if some of the teenage pregnancies we lament today could have been prevented if someone had listened yesterday?
What if a teenager contemplating suicide had found a trusted adult willing to listen without judgement?
What if the lived experiences of adolescents could help us design better systems to protect them?
Globally, World Mental Health Day was celebrated a few days ago.
As we reflect on the theme “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change”, these questions deserve urgent attention.
For many teenagers, listening is an expression of love.
Adolescence brings profound physical, emotional and social changes.
Young people are navigating identity, relationships, peer pressure, sexuality, social media and the desire for independence.
They want to be accepted, understood and taken seriously.
Yet, when they approach some adults with difficult questions or personal problems, they may encounter condemnation, threats or even punishment instead of understanding.
A girl who fears disclosing an older man’s inappropriate advances may remain silent because she anticipates being blamed.
A teenager pressured into sexual activity may struggle to distinguish affection from manipulation.
Another may exchange sex for money, gifts or necessities without knowing where to seek help.
When teenagers fear our reactions more than the danger they face, silence can become their last hope.
Listening will not prevent every instance of abuse or teenage pregnancy. However, a trusted adult who recognises warning signs, responds without humiliation and takes appropriate action may help prevent harm before it escalates.
Even more concerning is the fact that the consequences of feeling unheard can extend beyond sexual health.
In 2024, a Ghanaian study involving 800 junior high school students in Greater Accra found that approximately one in five had experienced suicidal thoughts in the preceding year.
Parental support was associated with lower odds of suicidal behaviour.
Another study in 2020 involving 20 adolescents aged 15–19 who had attempted suicide explored experiences including rejection, broken relationships, financial difficulties and family conflict.
These findings do not mean that teenagers attempt suicide simply because they do not feel loved. Suicidal behaviour is complex and may involve depression, trauma, bullying, abuse, relationship difficulties and other pressures.
However, the findings remind us that adolescents’ emotional and social experiences matter.
Listening cannot replace professional mental healthcare, but it can open the door to timely mental health care and support.
We must therefore move beyond telling teenagers to speak up.
We must give them reasons to trust us.
Parents need to create homes where adolescents can discuss their personal life without automatically being labelled immoral or disrespectful. Guidance and discipline remain important, but they must not eliminate communication.
Schools need safe reporting systems for bullying, harassment, exploitation and abuse.
Health professionals must provide respectful, age-appropriate adolescent services.
When a teenager discloses abuse, institutions must respond appropriately rather than protect perpetrators or reputations at the child’s expense.
Most importantly, we must allow teenagers’ experiences to shape the solutions we develop.
Are our sexuality education programmes addressing the pressures young people actually face?
Do teenagers know where to report sexual exploitation?
Are online safety campaigns responding to current digital risks?
Can adolescents access mental health support without fear of stigma?
Have we asked vulnerable teenagers why existing interventions may not be working for them?
Their answers should inform parenting education, school safeguarding policies, adolescent-friendly health services, digital protection measures and national child-protection strategies.
The measure of our commitment is not the number of campaigns we launch, but whether our interventions make young people safer.
Every teenager deserves a trusted adult, a safe place to speak and a system that responds when something is wrong.
The Writer is a Child development expert/ Fellow of the Zero-To-Three Academy, USA. E-mail:
