KUALA LUMPUR: Incredibly, half of all young Malaysians don’t know how babies are born.
A National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) survey had also found that two in five do not know where the foetus develops.
Half of those surveyed did not know what the male and female reproductive organs are.
The Malaysian population and family survey, which polled some 1,700 respondents between the ages of 13 and 24, revealed the depth of ignorance among the young in basic sexual and reproductive health.
| Datuk Aminah Abdul Rahman, director-general of the National Population and Family Development Board, says it is time to address the lack of knowledge and awareness about sex. |
The respondents were from all races and from urban and rural areas across the country.
Carried out by LPPKN every 10 years, the survey tested respondents on their knowledge on HIV/ AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptivesand reproductive organs.
What is of even greater concern is that young adults between 20 and 24 were less knowledgeable about “the facts of life” compared to those aged between 15 and 19.
The young adults scored slightly lower in their understanding and knowledge of sex organs compared to teenagers.
The survey also found that males have slightly less awareness
than females.
LPPKN director-general Datuk Aminah Abdul Rahman said it was high time this lack of knowledge and awareness was addressed.
“We cannot be like an ostrich with a buried head, denying it all the time.”
Universiti Malaya’s Professor Dr Low Wah Yun echoed the need to act fast, citing a different study on female adolescents, which also indicated low awareness.
A quarter of the respondents in the 2006 study said a woman could get pregnant by just sharing a bed with a man, while 13 per cent said they were not sure if a woman could get pregnant by sleeping next to a man.
When asked if one could get pregnant the first time she had sex, slightly more than 10 per cent said no, while a third had no idea.
More than 10 per cent of the girls also said that a woman would not get pregnant if she was not turned on during sex, while 47 per cent did not know the answer.
The study, called the National Survey on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights of Women in Malaysia, had polled more than 2,000 female youths aged 15 to 24 years across nine states.
It was commissioned by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, and carried out by researchers in Universiti Malaya.
Out of the 2,005 girls surveyed, slightly more than 100 admitted to being sexually active. Of that number, one-fifth said they had sex more than five times a week, and 57 per cent had sex two to four times a week.
Low, who was one of the researchers, said the implementation of sexuality and reproductive health education was crucial to arrest the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases, unwanted pregnancies and abortions among youth.
The topic of sex education has long been a subject of debate, and Malaysia came close to implementing it in 2006 after the Cabinet gave the nod. But it appears to have fallen by the wayside.
“Sex education does not mean we are giving the youngsters a licence to have sex. It is to arm them with proper knowledge and to teach them to practise healthy sexual behaviour, and to be responsible for their own actions.
“What does a boy do when he gets a girl pregnant? Leave the girl alone to fend for herself?
“No. He has to face the consequences of his actions.
“We must teach responsible sexual behaviour, more so in boys so that they respect girls and not see them as sex objects,” said Low, a psychologist.
A World Health Organisation study on 19 countries that have a system of sex education in place showed that sex education did not hasten sexual activities.
On the contrary, it delayed sexual activities and led to safer sex.
Associate Professor Dr Mary Huang from Universiti Putra Malaysia said the mean age of marriage among Malaysians was getting higher.
“This means young adults are getting exposed to more years where they can have premarital sex.”
This, coupled with the freedom that children and youth enjoyed today, and the sexual messages that they were bombarded with in the media, was a recipe for social disaster, she said.
“Children today are exposed to so many things they think is sex education, but it’s not. Pornography, for example, is a very perverted form of sex.
“Young people have to know what’s real and what’s not,” said Huang, the honorary secretary-general of the Federation of Reproductive Health Associations Malaysia.
Aminah said more focus should be placed on preventive measures instead of knee-jerk reactions to cases like abandoned babies.
“Too much funds have been allocated to fix problems instead of addressing them at the source.”
Low said: “We shouldn’t let our kids reach the stage where they have to seek abortions. We should prevent that from happening.
“Teach them abstinence but also arm them with knowledge about safe sex.”
Sex education: The story so far
• JANUARY 1991: The National Union of Teaching Profession disagreed with a suggestion to allow films and videotapes depicting sexual scenes to be used for educational purposes.
• SEPTEMBER 1992: The Cabinet Committee on AIDS proposed that sex education, with emphasis on AIDS prevention, be taught to Form Two pupils.
• OCTOBER 1992: The Education Ministry decided not to use the term “sex education” for the subject on sex as it can be misconstrued by the public. It would be known as “family health education” and taught to only secondary school students.
• DECEMBER 1994: Sex education would be introduced as a subject called “family life education” for pupils students from Forms Two to Five beginning the 1995/96 school term, said Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn.
• SEPTEMBER 1998: The proposal to include sex education in schools has been perceived negatively by some parents and groups in the society, said the Federation of Family Planning Associations.
• APRIL 2000: Sex education was taught in Penang under a pilot project involving Form 3 students pupils in 15 schools.
• DECEMBER 2003: Teachers would be given guidelines on how to approach subjects on sexuality
early next year, said the National Unity and Social Development Ministry.
• DECEMBER 2006: The Cabinet gave the green light to introduce sex education into the school syllabus at all levels, said the Ministry of Education.
• DECEMBER 2006: A sum of RM20 million had been allocated to provide training, campaigns and promotional materials for sex education, said Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
• MARCH 2007: A plan to expand the scope of the sex education programme beyond students was holding back the roll-out of the guidelines.
• MAY 2008: Sex education and the danger of HIV and AIDS would be introduced under the National Service training programme starting October, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen.
• NOVEMBER 2008: Sex education was unlikely to be introduced in the National Service training, said NS Training Council chairman Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe, as feedback from various quarters had not been received.
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