- Nine out of 10 Togolese (91%) believe that girls should be allowed to continue their schooling even if they become pregnant or have children.
- More than eight out of 10 respondents (84%) support the teaching of sex education in schools.
- A majority of respondents believe that contraceptives should be accessible to anyone who is sexually active, regardless of age (54%) or marital status (64%).
- Most Togolese believe that girls and women should be free to decide whether and when they should marry (86%) as well as how many children to have and when to have them (65%).
- Nearly four out of 10 Togolese (38%) say that women and girls in their community "occasionally" or "often" terminate their pregnancies.
- Two-thirds (67%) of Togolese consider abortion to be "sometimes justified" or "always justified" if the pregnancy endangers the pregnant woman's health or life. Slightly more than (52%) share this view if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. In contrast, large majorities believe that abortion is "never justified" due to financial difficulties (68%) or in the case of an unwanted pregnancy regardless of the reason (71%).
Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) – closely tied to fundamental human rights to life, health, and privacy – remain a major issue in Africa. International frameworks spell out states’ obligation to ensure that reproductive health services are available, accessible, and free from discrimination, even as significant disparities in access to care persist (United Nations, n.d.).
In Togo, SRHR issues have made recent headlines in response to pregnancies among school aged girls (Avi, 2026; Ahossou, 2025; Tadégnon, 2025). In the 2024-2025 academic year, 2,284 pregnancies were recorded: 17 at the primary level, 1,319 in lower secondary, and 948 in upper secondary (Ministère des Solidarités, du Genre, de la Famille et de la Protection de l’Enfance, 2026). These early pregnancies jeopardise young girls’ education by contributing to dropout rates and grade repetition while also exposing them to heightened health risks (Women in Law and Development in Africa, 2026).
At the legislative level, Togo has strengthened its framework for protecting learners against sexual abuse. The law provides for criminal penalties for perpetrators of sexual abuse in schools, apprenticeship centres, and vocational training institutions. Anyone responsible for a pregnancy in a 16-year-old learner faces a prison sentence of one to five years and a fine of up to U.S. $8,300. These penalties are doubled if the victim is under the age of 16 (Assemblée Nationale, 2022).
Beyond the legal framework, Togo has launched several initiatives aimed at preventing adolescent pregnancies and improving access to reproductive health services. These include the National Programme to Combat Adolescent Pregnancy and Marriage, the establishment of community-based monitoring units, the strengthening of legal protections, and participation in the Family Planning 2030 initiative, which aims to increase modern contraceptive prevalence among all women from 23.2% in 2022 to 29.5% by 2026 (Republic of Togo, 2015; Actu Togo, 2026; Family Planning 2030, n.d.). These efforts seek to extend a trend of steadily increasing use of modern contraceptive methods, with prevalence rising from 15.6% in 2012 to 24.9% in 2024 (Republic of Togo, 2025).
At the same time, civil society organisations such as the Togolese Association for Family Welfare (2025) are conducting grassroots initiatives focused on sex education and the prevention of clandestine abortions.
Abortion is illegal in Togo except in specific circumstances, which may encourage clandestine abortions at great risk to the health and life of pregnant girls and women. (Assemblée Nationale, 2015; Adé, 2025).
A five-year study of patients admitted for obstetric and gynaecological care at a university hospital in Lomé reveals a rising incidence of induced abortion, particularly among young women.
Complications associated with these procedures, sometimes fatal, accounted for 20% of treated abortion cases (Ketevi et al., 2025). Key reasons given for the clandestine abortions were fear of parental reaction, the desire to continue one’s education, and professional constraints.
Against this backdrop, a special module included in the Afrobarometer Round 10 survey explores Togolese citizens’ views on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Results reveal broad support for the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls. Strong majorities approve of pregnant girls and young mothers continuing their education, of the teaching of sex education in schools, and of women’s right to make their own decisions regarding marriage and childbearing.
A majority of Togolese also support access to contraceptives regardless of age or marital status.
Regarding voluntary termination of pregnancy, nearly four in 10 respondents say it occurs at least “occasionally” in their community. While a majority of respondents deem abortion justified when the pregnancy endangers the woman’s health or life or results from rape or incest, strong majorities reject it when it is motivated by economic hardship or involves an unwanted pregnancy, regardless of the reason.
Related content
