Urgent call made for teen sex education

Urgent call made for teen sex education

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The 18-year-old "Maya" thought the world had ended for her when
her doctor confirmed that she was pregnant. She thought she was
just having her first ever intimate relationship.

She was depressed and hopeless and didn't know what to do. She
worried about how her boyfriend and her parents would react and
what the neighbors would think. She imagined that she could not
finish school, making it hard for her to pursue a career and have
a good future.

All she could think of was aborting the pregnancy. Maya
started to do things that are not recommended for pregnant women.
But still her belly was getting bigger.

She had no idea how to do it by herself, but then she asked
for help from a dukun (midwife). She was scared as she had to
undergo a painful procedure. She was relieved finally but she
realized that she could never forget that episode of her life.

Maya was one of many teenagers with little awareness of sex
and reproductive health issues. The young generation, aged
between 10 and 24 years, make up around 30 percent of the total
Indonesian population.

Previous research has disclosed a tendency for delayed
marriages but it has also revealed a trend toward early sexual
activity, to as young as 15-years of age.

The Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (PKBI)'s figures
show that there were around 5,900 cases of unsafe abortion
attempts last year.

Some 70 percent of the women undergo abortion by consuming
traditional herbal medications, vigorously massaging their
stomach, inserting a blunt object in their genital organs to kill
or pull out the fetus or seeking help from dukun.

The figure is only the tip of the iceberg. Biran Affandi's
research in 2000 revealed an estimated 2.3 million abortion cases
annually.

A doctor with the Family and Reproductive Health Clinic (KKRK)
Ramona Sari said that the teenage girls did not realize that they
were also putting themselves at lethal risk with their actions.

"Some of them went to dukun and suffered terrible pain. They
refused to seek professional help until they had serious internal
bleeding due to improper abortion procedures," she said during a
recent seminar on reproductive health among teenagers.

Unwanted pregnancies are just one of the consequences
resulting from the lack of awareness on the subject, which may
also lead to (unsafe) abortion, early marriage, genital
mutilation practices, infertility, death in childbirth and the
spread of sexually transmitted diseases (like AIDS, gonorrhea and
syphilis, among others).

"Teenagers should be given proper sex and reproductive health
education so they can adopt responsible sexual and social
behavior and will understand the consequences of free and unsafe
sex," said PKBI director Zarfiel Tafal.

The campaign to build this awareness, however, has yet to bear
fruit.

PKBI and related government institutions still face a huge
challenge because sex-related information is still considered
taboo in the society and is not properly addressed by the family
and school, two institutions that play a central role in
teenagers' lives.

"Many parents prefer to avoid the subject and assume that they
can leave the task to teachers. Without parental guidance,
teenagers will try to understand it in an inappropriate way, like
watching porn, which can be obtained easily and cheaply," Ramona
said.

"Let's not forget that teenagers may imitate what they see or
encounter," Ramona added.

While delegating the role to school teachers, another PKBI
staff member, Inne Silviane, said PKBI and related governmental
institutions were currently formulating a method for
comprehensive sex education for teenagers.

However, before communicating with teenagers on sex and
reproductive health issues, teachers must first undergo special
training.

"Many teachers admit that they are not qualified to give
proper sex education to their students. This is why previous
efforts have not been effective," she said.

She expressed her hope that the program would begin as soon as
possible.