First, have a seat, take a deep breath and be prepared as you will possibly be very worried and troubled after looking at the numbers that we will share with you below.
Sex education has been a taboo subject and a topic of heated debate among Malaysians. But recently, with so many sexual incidents involving the younger generation of Malaysia, it looks like there is an urgent need of proper exposure as well as information regarding sex for them.
For illustration purposes only | Source: The Borneo Post
In a survey conducted by the Public Health Institute as reported by The Malaysian Insight, where 27,497 students from 212 schools nationwide were involved, the results that came in were rather worrying.
Based on the survey, Pahang has the highest recorded number of teens who have had sexual intercourse at 9.5% while Kuala Lumpur had the lowest number recorded, which is at 4.3%. On the other hand, Selangor recorded the highest number of sexually active teenagers at 5.4%.
The survey also reported that 16.6% of teenagers were discovered to have sexual intercourse with at least two partners. Meanwhile, of those who had sex, 31.9% had their first sexual experience before the age of 14. That’s really young!
Source: The Malaysian Times
The highest number of students who have attempted sexual relations are from Form 1, at 9.3%. This is followed by Form 4 at 7.3%, Form 2 and Form 5 at 6.9% and Form 3 at 6.1%.
Source: The Malaysian Insight
The full survey can be downloaded here.
Noor Aishah Rosli, University Malaya’s Education Faculty lecturer, explained that students in rural areas were more involved in such unhealthy activities, saying,
“Life in the city holds excitement, whereas in the rural areas, it’s limited. In the city, you can go out to watch a movie, there are gadgets, or go out for a meal with friends. It’s different in villages: these things are limited and they will experiment with sexual activity when they befriend members of the opposite sex.”
She also stated that curiosity and exposure to pornography are also some of the reasons why these teenagers are trying out these activities at such a young age.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Today Online
Noor Aishah clarified that parents play a huge role in helping to curb this curiosity and that they should provide sex education at home. She told The Malaysian Insight,
“Sex education starts at home. When children reach 11 years old, parents need to start explaining it to them in stages, beginning with the sexual organs of men and women.”
She then added that sex education should be taught in schools when they start their secondary education.
What are your thoughts about implementing sex education in schools? Is Malaysia ready for such a move?
Also read: A Shaman Kidnapped A 12-Year-Old Girl & Kept Her as A Sex Slave For 15 Years
