In many regions of the world where virginity is given a high social value, girls are married off at a young age, often to men many years older. A child bride faces greater health risks and experiences real physical violation and trauma as her young body is forced to deal with early sexual activity and the strains and pains of pregnancy and childbirth.

One of the more damaging results of early child-bearing is vesico-vaginal or recto-vaginal fistulae. This complication, due to prolonged obstructed birth, leads to loss of full control of urinary and/or rectal functions. Given their lack of access to health care, most girls with this condition are unlikely to receive proper treatment. In the worst cases, many are divorced or abandoned and become social outcasts.

In the hierarchy of gender-based power relations, adolescent females occupy the lowest rung. Their opportunities for self-development and autonomy are limited due to societies’ denying them access to education, health care, and gainful employment. On top of this, many are confronted with sexual coercion and abuse, often starting at a very young age.

Adolescent girls are relatively powerless when dealing with older partners, increasing their risk of infection from STDs and/or AIDS. Many older men deliberately seek out young girls in the mistaken belief that their chances of AIDS infection will be reduced. This behaviour is reflected in the faster-rising rate of infection among girls than boys.

Many teenagers are unable to negotiate for protected sex. Further compounding their vulnerable position is their lack of knowledge of contraceptive methods and lack of access to reproductive health information and services.

Illegal abortions due to sexual coercion and assault present many serious gynaecological problems. Despite restrictive laws, pregnant teens who are desperate often risk the dangers of unsafe illegal abortions. There is evidence that many young women are dying because they are unable to receive proper treatment in time to save them from complications of an aborted pregnancy.

"Veronica was admitted to the... medical ward with a fever and diagnosis of malaria. ...On Day 14 ... a gynaecologist examined Veronica because she was not responding to anti-malarial treatment... and found her to have large amounts of purulent-smelling vaginal discharge, fever and severe pallor. ... She was transferred to the gynaecology ward with a diagnosis of post-abortion septicemia. She deteriorated with insomnia, persistence of fever, and abdominal pain. ...Veronica, age 18, died on [her] eighth day... [in] the gynaecology ward." -Zambia. (Center for Reproductive Law and Policy. 1994. Violations of Women's Reproductive Rights: A Selection of Testimonials from Around the World.).

The consequences of rape for female adolescents are especially tragic in many countries where the prevailing conservative social attitude puts a premium on a young girl’s virginity. The extent of this is measured by the cruel and unusual punishment that is the fate of girls who are raped.

In Latin America, 12 countries still have archaic laws on the books that allow the rapist to avoid imprisonment if he marries the woman he raped. Even in cases of gang rape, as long as one man offers marriage (often accepted and urged on the woman by her family), all the rapists escape punishment.