Data from the Quezon City Health Office shows that in 2009, there was one pregnant teenager for every 10 new registered pregnant women—a staggering 10,248 teenage pregnancies in one year alone in just one city.
Nationwide, 36 out of 100 births are recorded among young mothers aged 15 to 24, according to the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey. That’s more than one-third of all annual births.
Unwanted pregnancies among the youth have become prevalent as more and more young people engage in premarital sex.
The 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey (YAFSS) conducted nationwide by the University of the Philippines Population Institute shows that the proportion of young Filipinos, aged 15 to 27, engaging in premarital sex increased from 17.8 percent in 1994 to 23.1 percent in 2002. One third of those who engaged in premarital sex also reported having multiple sex partners.
According to the survey, the majority of the youth engaged in unprotected sex – 70 percent for men and 68 percent for women. What worries health experts is that 60 percent of these young people believe there is no chance for them to be infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
The survey also reveals misperceptions about HIV-AIDS among Filipino youth. Twenty-eight percent of young adults thought that AIDS is curable, while 73 percent thought they are immune to HIV.
Anti-HIV campaign
Consequently, Valisno says the rising number of cases of sex-related diseases among the youth have now reached an alarming rate.
The HIV-AIDS registry of the Department of Health (DOH) shows a dramatic increase of new HIV infections among Filipinos in the 15-24 years old bracket, from 41 in 2007 to 218 in 2009 — a five-fold expansion in just two years.
Hence, on top of the sex education program, DepEd and a UN agency have launched an anti-HIV-AIDS program among high school students. It is considered the “soft implementation" of the sex education program since it aims to educate youth on the perils of sex at an early age.
With the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) at the helm, the program dubbed as “Power of You" was pioneered in March in 29 high schools across the country.
The educational campaign carries an interactive video that follows the story of typical teenagers Francis and Sara. The video uses the telenovela format to encourage young people to forego sexual activities and educate themselves and their peers about HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
In a press statement, the UN children’s agency says the project emphasizes children’s right to information as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most widely signed international treaty safeguarding children’s rights.
“UNICEF believes that children have the right to information, at the right time, to enable them to lead happy and healthy lives," the treaty says.
The program came a few weeks after the DOH’s widely publicized and controversial action of giving away free condoms on Valentine’s Day as part of its anti-HIV campaign.
The DOH, which earned the ire of some Catholic bishops, is pressing for a 400-million-peso program to purchase condoms. DepEd, for its part, has no plans to distribute condoms in schools.
Expectedly, the health department fully supports the implementation of sex education in schools. Its head, Secretary Esperanza Cabral, is even suggesting that teaching about sex start with kindergarten pupils — again, to the horror of Catholic bishops.
But while clashing parties continue to debate the propriety of sex education, teenage kids, and increasingly even pre-teen children, discover sex on their own, exploring it like a new game or pastime, often rushing headlong into the dark, unmindful of the end results.—JV/HS, GMANews.TV
Claire Delfin is a senior correspondent of GMA Network, Inc. She regularly contributes special reports on children, women, education, health and the environment to the network’s official news website, www.gmanews.tv.Is Sex turning into child past tme part 3Originally from: http://www.nursinglink.monster.com/news/articles/14401-is-sex-turning-into-child-past-tme-part-3
View this post on my blog: http://travelnursesuccess.com/is-sex-turning-into-child-past-tme-part-3
No comments:
Post a Comment