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Friday, September 30, 2005
22% of Cebu youth tried premarital sex
By Jujemay G. Awit
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A survey revealed that 23 percent of young adults in the country engage in premarital sex, a sharp rise of figures from three years ago, the Population Commission (PopCom) 7 said.
Among young Cebuano adults, 20 to 22 percent engage in premarital sex.
The survey was taken from the 2005 Young Adults Fertility and Sexuality Survey. Young adults are identified as those age 15 to 24 years old.
Three years ago, the incidence rate of premarital sex was only at 17 percent.
Abortions
A higher incidence of premarital sex means more unwanted pregnancies, which also lead to more cases of abortion, said PopCom 7 Director Leo Rama in a forum.
An estimated 700,000 abortions were performed in the country in 2004, compared to 450,000 in 2001, Rama said.
“There will come a time when half of the youth will be engaging in premarital sex, which will eventually lead to unplanned pregnancy. Do we want to rob the young lady of her future?” Rama said.
While PopCom advocates the use of contraceptives as a means of population management, Rama is focusing on training the youth as counselors. High School students are the main target of the project.
“With the youth’s exposure to a lot of printed materials, TV, the cellphone phenomenon and the Internet, there is no stopping the teenagers from experimenting. But it will do such good if they will be able to talk about it,” said Rama.
In this project, problematic teenagers won’t have a hard time sharing their feelings and experiences.
A youth center at the Abellana Sports Center has been put up, using the Cebu City Government’s P1.7-million aid allotted for reproductive health projects.
Rama said he also plans to expand the youth centers inside the schools, as well as in other areas of the region.
Rama also revealed that the study showed that smoking, alcohol drinking and drugs are factors closely associated with premarital sex.
Vices
When asked to explain, he said that by engaging in these vices, “the youth finds in them a sense of modernity, which they also translate into premarital sex.”
But Office on Muslim Affairs 7 Director Sakiran Hajan believes there is more to it than that.
“Perhaps the children rebel from what their parents want them to do because of typical parent-child relationship. Maybe if there is mutual respect, then the kids will not resort to such things,” Hajan said.
Both Rama and Hajan believe that it all boils down to value formation at home.
(September 30, 2005 issue)
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