Malaysian youth still naive on sex education, survey revealed

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite government's effort to educate youths on sex education, a survey revealed that an alarming number of them were still naive on the matter.
Reckitt Beckinser Malaysia and Singapore marketing director Matias Caride said a new nationwide survey, "The Malaysian Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Survey" conducted by Perspective Strategies Sdn Bhd revealed that 79% of youths have received some form of information on SRH.
"More than half did not believe it was sufficient to help them make responsible decisions.
"With such inadequate knowledge of the subject matter, it was no surprise that the survey revealed startling and widespread misconceptions among young Malaysians about pregnancy, sexual violence as well as sexual transmitted infections (STIs)," Caride said.
The survey involved 1,071 youths nationwide between the ages of 18 to 29 and focused on five key areas - SRH education, pregnancy knowledge, STIs awareness, contraception knowledge, gender and relationships.
Caride said 79% of the youth said they have received SRH education mostly from their school, internet and their peers, but 62% of them did not believe it was sufficient.
" While SRH-knowledge-driven programmes are actually focused on helping the youth understand their bodies, learn to protect themselves and inculcate a sense of respect for everyone, 25% of those surveyed had the wrong impression that SRH education teaches them on ways to engage in sexual intercourse," he said.
He said 82% think that rape occurred because of the perpetrators' uncontrolled urges while another 56% believe that women who wore tight clothes are more likely to be raped.
The survey also revealed that 14% would rather not sit next to a HIV-positive person be it at their workplace or at their university.
"There has never been a more urgent time than now for us to continue our efforts to advocate, educate and research on the subject of SRH. As Malaysia becomes a more developed and educated nation, we need to help and encourage young Malaysians to have a better understanding of their SRH." he said.
Women, Family and Community Development deputy minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun who was at the event said the outcome of the survey showsthat there is a need for greater discussion among stakeholders to develop and improve appropriate intervention programmes and fine tune the existing ones.