Not for Girls Only

When it comes to teenage pregnancy and parenthood, Jorge Lyra believes it is time to stop leaving boys out of the conversation. For years, while teenage pregnancy rates were rising in Brazil, parenting education and pregnancy prevention efforts only targeted girls. Traditions of machismo combined with low expectations of teenage boys had reinforced stereotypes about male sexual irresponsibility and absentee fatherhood. 

Lyra founded PAPAI to tackle these cultural stereotypes and pull boys into the conversation about families and family planning. PAPAI works through school and hospital based health programs to offer moral support, encouragement and parenting education to young fathers. Lyra works to give adolescent boys a better understanding of the key role fathers play in the lives of their children. PAPAI also runs programs that reach teenage boys before they become fathers. They learn about the importance of being ready for fatherhood, but more importantly, that pregnancy prevention rests on their shoulders as well as their partners'.