Survey shows disturbing early Sexual exploits among youth!

IT may be disturbing, but a survey conducted by the Population Commission in the region revealed an alarming level of sexual promiscuity among young adults: about 27 males or 18 females aged 15-27 have had premarital sex (PMS) at 18.

What is even disturbing is that these young adults do not just do it for the usual boyfriend-girlfriend relationship but extends to doing it with friends and acquaintances. Alarmed over the Young Adults Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) survey conducted among these age brackets in Central Visayas , local population and reproductive health advocates say, “enough of the denials.” “Let us stop the denials and the negative reactions, instead together we need to face the issue squarely,” hinted Provincial Board Member Godofreda Tirol.

The YAFS revealed that almost 23 in every 100 young adults have had premarital sex at an age well into their high schools. The real problem, agreed the guests during the weekly Kapihan sa PIA last week, is the emerging sexual behavior of young adults with 37 in every 100 engaging in multiple sex partners, several of these instances unprotected. “Its very alarming knowing that they are already in the adolescent fertility ages, women get pregnant and at 15-18, they are yet in schools,” said Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Women and Family affairs chair BM Tirol.

The same view is shared by Soniaflor Kapirig, Department of Education Supervisor at the Division of Bohol, who said that they have reports that the young pre-marital sex age could still go down to the elementary pupils. With this, she hoped that the contents of a DepEd module mulled to cascade sex education to the schools would be responsive to the needs of Boholanos.

The DepEd reportedly has come up with a sex-education module, which has already generated as much criticisms from conservative Catholics, who see the move as treading into a dangerous territory. Talking of topics on sex and education in the past has been met with derision in this largely conservative province. With the trend, sectors and affected individuals have opted to deny or simply lock the problem in a closet rather than creatively meeting the problem head on. In the seemingly dark atmosphere of apparent condemnation, sectors involved in population and health, as well as the youth have started to approach the problem realistically, noted Manuel Ferdinand de Erio, a youth representing Sangguniang Kabataan Federation Representative, BM Bobith Cajes-Auza.

The organized youth, he said have started a three pronged approach on sex education and advocacy, saying further that they are there to help eliminate the possibility of uninformed decisions in matters of sexual orientations. Bohol SK runs SK Today, a publication bannering youth issues, SK on the Air, which airs youthful concerns and a youth advocacy website. Meanwhile, BM Tirol said she is incorporating population, health and environment in the draft Women's Code, which she is authoring as a crucial legislative support for sex education and family health advocates.

DepEd's Kapirig said even with the impending implementation of a sex education module for in-school youth, the division of Bohol is pursuing an institutionalized sex education and awareness piloted in three sites here. She said DepEd pilots Health Nutrition School , Alternative Learning System and the Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Division integrating sex education advocacy.

There is even an education component for in-school and out of school youth, Kapirig explains, making a no-nonsense approach to allowing the youth an array of options before invoking their freedom of choices, she adds. Such is altogether put in place to possibly respond to an even more disturbing reality: suicide, depression and violence rates noticeably high. The same YAFS survey said with about 18 of every 100 youth contemplates suicide, 19 attempting it with 65 young adult females thinking of slashing wrists at least once in life and 55 males contemplate on hanging oneself.

l