DOH tells teenagers to follow the ABC rule of Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom.

By Ma Kang-yao
Taiwan News,Supplement Reporter
Photos Courtesy of DOH

Sexuality education in Taiwan starts at age 10, when children are in the fifth- grade of elementary school and roughly ends at 19 when people are supposed to take responsibility for their own decisions. During this period, the teenagers grow fast physically but relatively slow in emotional maturity. Since their lives have just begun to unfold, the issues regarding sex may go far beyond their ability to handle it.

Premature sex makes a huge impact on the youths especially the teenage girls, physically and mentally. Other side effects such as unexpected pregnancy, abortion surgery, unsafe and unhygienic sex may lead to irreparable harm. The situation may turn to be worse as now when HIV/AIDS becomes widespread. Premature sex also distracts teens' attention from their schoolwork, their valuable and precious age for learning.

For the serious cases, sexually transmitted disease by sex partners would impair teenagers' future sex life or reproductive ability. In this age, teens usually do not have enough and correct knowledge about sex hygiene. Plus the lack of ability to earn a living on their own and fear will make teenagers unable to get appropriate treatment in time, which may lead to a serious chronic infection or sequela that endanger their lives. If the pregnant teenagers go to the unqualified clinics for abortion surgery, the complications derived from after-surgery infection will cause sterility.

According to Department of Health(DOH) statistics, cervical cancer in these years occurs earlier. Some experts say that this might be partly due to the inappropriate treatment during abortion. Medical science has proven that cervical cancer is caused by the yeast infection that results from premature sex, premature delivery, promiscuity and unhygienic sexual habits.

Growing threat

The World Population Day activities in 2003, sponsored by the World Health Organization focused on Teenagers' Safe Sex. It showed that the issues of teen pregnancy and the sexually transmittedl diseases among teens have become critical concerns in all countries.

In Taiwan, the teens' attitudes towards sex have gradually become open. More and more surveys indicate that teens are more acceptable to engaging in premarital sex. A survey conducted in 2000 found that 43 percent of boys and 25 percent of girls say yes to premarital sex, an increase from that of 34 percent and 13 percent in 1995. The survey also suggested that the average age for boys to have their first sexual experience had decreased to 16.1 years old.

In 2000, the percentage of those who have had sex experience among teenagers increased by 2.15% since 1995 and reached 12.15%. What is striking is that among them, 27% of the boys and 34% of the girls said they don't use any contraception. Ten percent of them were pregnant and almost all of them ended up with abortion. Therefore, DOH has launched several initiatives to promote the idea of safe sex. Sexuality education is not just about lessening the harm to the teenagers caused by sexual behavior, it is also about communicating the correct knowledge, help teens cultivate healthy habits of sex, the attitudes and protection they should have when deciding to have sex, help them understand the meanings of sex, love, marriage, family, and eventually, decrease the fertility rate of teens. In the long run, healthy teens and healthy sexual behavior between sexes are the foundations of society and family.

Sexuality education at large

DOH works with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to strengthen Sexuality education in schools. The MOE brought Sexuality education courses into the nine-year compulsory education program and into the curriculum of some high schools and colleges. DOH has also produced promotional pamphlets, DVDs, playing cards and other materials distributed to schools for promoting safe sex such as the way to protect oneself against date rape. Every eve of Valentines' Day, DOH launches a campaign to urge young couples to practice the "ABC Rule" - "Abstinence," "Be faithful" and "Condom." The department has purchased ad space in popular teen magazines promoting safe sex and the concept of mutual respect when dating. Meanwhile, DOH has sponsored safe sex summer camps and poster competitions to encourage participation by youths. For two consecutive years, DOH has cooperated with Shu-Te University to hold the Asian Youth Sex Education Forum, inviting experts from other Asian countries to share their experience.
DOH also organizes Sexuality education seminars for officials in local health bureaus. By sending these local health workers into the communities and schools, sex education will be more effective.

To provide teenagers with health care service, DOH has assisted hospitals to set up 46 health care outpatient services for teenagers. These outpatient services provide diagnosis, consultation and treatment for teens on sex, physiology, reproduction, and safe sexual behavior.

In 2004, DOH started providing private organizations or medical facilities with monetary assistance in setting up teen health centers. Three centers have been built. E-Da Hospital set up a sex education website and a 0800 hotline. Pingtung Christian Hospital did a research on sex education among aborigine teens. Far Eastern Memorial Hospital offers sex education to high-risk groups and trains safe sex educators.

"Going to the hospitals or clinics may not be a welcome choice for most teens," said Hsu Fan- gen, (許芳瑾) the Section Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Bureau of Health Promotion. "But these outpatient services will give teens the best diagnosis and treatment. They also serve as a bridge between parents and children. The communication and understanding of both sides are crucial to a family."

While much effort and resources having been earmarked for sex education in schools, family education seemed to have been ignored and it is the most important part of education. "The downside of sex education in schools is that the school is pretty much score-oriented and pay little attention to subjects that can barely get students high scores in tests," said Hsu. "Sex education is this kind of subject, so we should turn our attention to other channels."

The Internet serves as a great channel to provide teens adequate sex information. The website set up by the Bureau of Health Promotion www.young.gov.tw is a great site for teens to learn about sex and other related physiological and psychological information.

"In these past years, we have tried to improve our website design, opened up a message board, created many interesting topics and designed games to increase our interaction with our young visitors," said Hsu. "The Internet has become an indispensable tool for teens, who might obtain the wrong information about sex; thus it is important to have an attractive website."

The website has sections for parents, teachers and teens, and frequently asked questions. The latest DOH count for page views is about 500,000 times per year. DOH uploaded two e-books ("Growing Up" and "Age of Innocence") for elementary and junior high school students. In the future, DOH will work with private organizations to enrich the content of the website.

All of the educational efforts contribute to the outcome that the percentage of practicing contraception for the first-time sex has increase from 24.4% to 38.2% in boys and from 27.1% to 42% in girls. And the premature pregnancy rate has decreased for these years.

Sexuality education and the ways of looking at sex have changed with the evolution of society. "The human body may not be that different ever since there was man and woman, but the social value of sex has changed," said Hsu. "For example, holding hands in the past might have been a serious transgression but I believe for now, people have different views about it. To fit in with the change, we have to constantly improve our Sexuality education."