More young Singaporeans are having unprotected sex.
 A survey found that 61 per cent of sexually active youngsters here do not use contraception with new partners, a 12-per-cent increase from 49 per cent last year. These results – released on Tuesday – are part of a global sexual health study for World Contraception Day, which fell on Sept 26. In Singapore, 100 males and 100 females between the ages of 16 and 19 were surveyed.
What are the possible reasons for this uptick?
Increasing media influence on sexuality and instant gratification is one cause, said Dr Sundardas Annamalay, vice-president of the Singapore Planned Parenthood Association. Like their peers worldwide, many youths think it is not cool to use contraception, he said. Although more than 80 per cent of the youths surveyed said they were aware of the responsibility to use contraception, many were just not doing it.
Two-thirds of them felt that grooming and personal hygiene before a potential sexual encounter were more important than preparing for contraception. Also, many parents do not talk to their children about these issues, observed Dr Sundardas. “It is not enough to just eat together, there must be communication too,” he said.
 Often, the youngsters are left with misconceptions, such as believing that withdrawing the penis before ejaculation is a sure way of preventing a pregnancy. Here, more than four in 10 young people surveyed felt that the withdrawal method was effective when it is not.
Only about 23 per cent of young people here consider themselves to be very well informed about contraception options, as compared to the global figure of 51 per cent. It is not just the youths who lack knowledge. Even working adults can be clueless.
Many young professionals think that the withdrawal and rhythm method can prevent pregnancies and they have misconceptions about the pill. Although the teenage pregnancy rate of 8.4 per 1,000 here is considerably lower than many other countries, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is still of concern. The number of youths below the age of 20 reported to have STDs jumped from 61 per 100,000 in 2000 to 133 in 2008. |