Youths Keen On Learning Safe Sex

[george]

Youths keen on learning safe sex

More openness on the subject sought from parents, teachers

BANGKOK: -- Teenagers want sex education and they want it from their parents and teachers, a survey taken ahead of Valentine's Day reveals.

They especially want to know about safe sex.

The survey polled the attitudes towards sex of 2,000 teenagers aged between 15 and 22 years. They live in 11 provinces from Chiang Mai and Lampang to Bangkok, Surat Thani and Yala.

The survey was conducted by Thai Youth Network on HIV/Aids, Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health, and the Rajabhat Institute at Ban Somdej Chao Phya between October and November last year.

It found 72.5 per cent wanted teachers and parents to give them clear information about sex.

Almost 74 per cent wanted parents to be open-minded when they talked about sex, and relationships.

The survey showed 76.5 per cent wanted sex education on the school curriculum and 56 per cent wanted teachers to show them how to use condoms and explain sexual intercourse. A group of 60.5 per cent wanted information about safe sex on television before 10 at night.

Almost 66 per cent said condoms should be available at schools, and 48.8 per cent thought teenage sex was acceptable.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry expected new HIV/Aids infections would increase to 14,000 this year. Most will be teenagers not practising safe sex.

Director of the ministry's Global Fund on Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Dr Anupong Chitwarakorn, said parents and teachers should educate children about safe sex to prevent HIV/Aids infections.

The ministry will spend Bt30 million on its Yeud Ook Pok Toong (Don't Be Shy) campaign encouraging teenagers not to be embarrassed about carrying condoms.

The campaign was commenced last year. For the next three months it will use broadcast advertisements to get the message across.

"We found most teenagers were satisfied with the campaign last year, and we will continue it to change risky behaviour among youth," Anupong said.

The Nation 2008-02-10

[BigSnake]

Yes, best learn from teacher(qualify) and parents, smart kids. All parents and teacher headsup. So many parents and teachers are affraid(shy) what ever to discuss sex with their kids. Just think about mom and dad isn't it better they learn from you or in school from a qualify teacher then from inform friends on the Soi.

[chownah]

Isn't it a sign of failure that 15 to 22 year olds are wanting to learn about safe sex? My son new about safe sex from about the age of 11 or 12. My view is that kids need to learn about sex BEFORE they are pubescent...it is less embarassing for them and can be learned without hormonal interference.

Chownah

Edited February 10, 2008 by chownah

[george]

Update:

One fifths of teenagers will have sex on Saint Valentine's day

BANGKOK: -- One in every five teenagers will likely end up having sex on the upcoming Saint Valentine's Day, according to a survey by the Assumption University.

Conducted between February 1 and February 9, the survey covered 2,384 teenagers in Bangkok and its adjacent provinces. The respondents were between 12 and 19 years old.

"It's worrying because 48.9 per cent of respondents also see sexual relationships as normal and about personal rights," Noppadon Kannika of the Assumption University said Sunday.

He also pointed out to the dangerous side of teenagers engaging in sex. Of those questioned, about 15.4 per cent had sexual experiences.

According to the survey, only 21.1 per cent of those who had been sexually active have always used condoms. Some 58.8 per cent others said they practised safe sex sometimes while up to 21.1 per cent never used condoms before.

-- The Nation 2008-02-10

[Tony Clifton]

"We want nothing to do with safe sex if it requires wearing a helmet like when we ride our motorcycles!"

[Dupont]

Update:

One fifths of teenagers will have sex on Saint Valentine's day

BANGKOK: -- One in every five teenagers will likely end up having sex on the upcoming Saint Valentine's Day, according to a survey by the Assumption University.

Conducted between February 1 and February 9, the survey covered 2,384 teenagers in Bangkok and its adjacent provinces. The respondents were between 12 and 19 years old.

"It's worrying because 48.9 per cent of respondents also see sexual relationships as normal and about personal rights," Noppadon Kannika of the Assumption University said Sunday.

He also pointed out to the dangerous side of teenagers engaging in sex. Of those questioned, about 15.4 per cent had sexual experiences.

According to the survey, only 21.1 per cent of those who had been sexually active have always used condoms. Some 58.8 per cent others said they practised safe sex sometimes while up to 21.1 per cent never used condoms before.

-- The Nation 2008-02-10

Its quite worrying to think that a University Proffessor would think Sexual relation are anything other than normal. Think they are getting the PC fllu from the west in their hallowed institutes of learning.

Its how we all got here and how all our future generations will get here. By sex, not by being some well read intellect with a career plan, who sees themselves as superior to the animals we are!

Anybody care to list anything that comes close to being as great as sex?

[Ijustwannateach]

^Surely the above announcement has nothing to do with the Ministry of Culture and their anti-sex mavens? I seem to recall that they were recently "outed" as having been behind these seasonal anti-sex ABAC polls. Once again I deplore the disingenuity of somehow pretending that 15-22 year olds are some sort of obvious coherent "group," when it is clear that the needs and responsibilities of 19-22 year olds are quite different from those 15-18ish. It's another unsubtle attempt to send out the message that people shouldn't have sex until they're married and 30, maybe.

Chownah, you're exactly right. Every child should have some kind of sex education from their earliest years, for a great variety of reasons:

1. To help them recognise and avoid inappropriate contact with adults

2. To give them accurate age-appropriate understanding of human reproduction (no storks or baby stores, please!)

3. Just before and during puberty, it is very important that children understand and accept the changes going on in their bodies and prepare to take responsibility for protecting their feelings and their health (and avoiding pregnancies!)

4. During adolescence, it is important to give children accurate information to protect their health. Keeping them ignorant in an attempt to make them afraid of sex is potentially tantamount to punishing them with death for giving in to what are only natural urges.

I don't know if there was ever any society where teens didn't experiment with sex, but I doubt it. It's a very vulnerable time in which they are both the most eager and yet the most unprepared for this part of their adult lives. We don't do them or the society any favours at all in leaving them so unprepared and unadvised with the current effective taboo on discussion between the generations.

I would feel honoured (and surprised) if any students asked me for accurate information about safer sex. Considering how the government's cartoonish announcements on the subject have demonised and mythologised the sexuality of youth in Thailand, it would be a brave teacher to raise the subject, and even braver students to do so.

Parents, don't leave it up to the teachers- but if you do, make sure your teacher isn't doing some sort of abstinence-only cop-out that will leave your kids unprepared to protect themselves.

"S"

[Scott]

Some of this head-in-the sand is unique to Thailand and has nothing to do with being PC. Nearly all informed gov'ts and certainly schools and those working with children understand that sex does and will happen. Abstince policies may be stressed, but they are generally one option of others that are discussed.

Somehow if we don't talk about sex, if there isn't any on television or movies, students won't think about it. It doesn't work that way. I go to sleep and it's in my mind. It's there when I wake up. Sometimes while staring at the wall, it pops up! It's a natural urge and it is what keeps the human race around.

Hey, but what can you say to a country that shows porno to Panda Bears!

[PeaceBlondie]

We had three boys and three girls, back when we were good Baptists, and all six of them lost their virginities between 13 and 19, prior to marriage. The kid next door started at 12 and made 2 schoolgirls pregnant in the same month when he was 14. Gay, lesbian, straight, bisexuals - all teenagers. I suspect that Thailand is not that 'advanced' but close to it.

They will find out, so it's better to hear more reliable info from parents and teachers, starting before puberty.

[Meerkat]

It always fills me with sorrow when the wife and I help out at our local orphanage in Thanyaburi. A large proportion of the kids there are the product of school-age parents (many of whom are under 16). Local schools do organise trips there to try and educate their pupils, but of course it isn't enough. Indeed our help at the orphanage is not entirely altruistic; we often take our 14 year old daughter there too, to try and reinforce in her the evils of boys!

I agree too that neither Thailand, nor even the developing world at large, has the monopoly on the problem.

[buffcoat]

Sadly the provision of effective sex education before teens become active is lacking right across the globe for a variety of reasons, at least in Thailand they are not rewarded for it by the provision of free housing and state handouts as they are in much of farangland.

Really sad to see young lives blighted by these early pregnancies (and the babies too) plus the growing problem of std's all of which are avoidable.

One of the biggest problems I see is that those who attempt to help and educate are often portrayed as encouraging teen sex and are therefore morally corrupt etc. Couple this to apathy on behalf of the authorities and it is no surprise that this problem continues to exist.

Teens are biologically programmed to have sex and they will continue to do so, the least the adult world can do is give them the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions.

[mssabai]

I have been shocked here at the age that many kids seem to lose their virginity. I have heard so many more stories of people first having sex at 11, 12 and 13, here than in my own country where about 15 was more the norm.

Sex education must be enforced from an early age...if these ages are anything to go by then not even 11 is early enough.

[intumult]

I agree and think it would be good to learn about sexual and intimate relationships before puberty.

Maybe they could do the same as they did in the UK and have condoms and other birth control available from the 'nurse' or some other responsible person at school or college and at the same time be given literature and also verbal advice.

Seems to me the kids these days are being more open aboout the subject and that should give a lead to those in authority to take action sooner rather than later although i feel there is likely to be a lot of parental objection along the way.

[Plus]

UK is the worst in Europe when it comes to teen pregnancy, why should Thais learn from them?

They should probably look at Japanese or Singaporeans - similar culture, similar value of virginity, similar attitude to pre-marital sex, similar attitude to promiscuity.

[Ijustwannateach]

^Actually, although Japanese have similar conservative government PR when it comes to sexual matters, they have no individual sense at all of guilt over sex per se, as opposed to public shame (when something causes a scandal in public). It was only a few years ago that they bothered to raise the age of consent to 18 (mainly because of the numbers of bored, materialistic high school girls who were turning tricks with older men). And I think only the most conservative types these days would really care about virginity there... and one of the reasons that it took so long (basically about 5 years ago) for women there to get the Pill was because the abortion providers had such a huge vested interested in taking care of unwanted pregnancies (that's what the little Jizo statues are for in the Japanese Buddhist temples; they're in memory of the souls of unborn aborted fetuses). Otherwise many, many differences in culture between the two countries (and thank god for that!). But I certainly wouldn't refer to the Japanese individually or culturally as sexually conservative (just take a look at their nighttime TV sometime!)

"S"

[Plus]

^ - I wish there was an :up: smiley for that.

What you say is still probably a better role model for Thais, or at least a more acceptable role model.

And not many people think that Thais are sexually conservative, either.