80% Hong Kong teens claim 7.7 sex partners on average: poll
Staff Reporter 2013-10-29 12:07
Two girls in hot pants and tube tops on a scorching hot day in Hong Kong, Aug. 5. (Photo/CNS)
A recent survey has found that 80% of Hong Kong teenagers have had sex, with the youngest age at which youngsters reported engaging in sexual activity to be 11 years old. Those surveyed reported having an average of 7.7 sex partners, according to the website of the Beijing-based state-owned China News Service.
The survey was overseen by the Hong Kong Playground Association, which publicized the results on Oct. 26. Liang Weichuan, secretary general of the association, said the prevalence of teenage sex has generated a number of social problems, including teenage pregnancy, abortion, prostitution and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. He urged social service institutions to set up cross-discipline crisis support centers to increase the accessibility of services and to motivate teenagers to seek help if they are at risk.
The survey was carried out by the association alongside the Department of Applied Social Sciences at Hong Kong Polytechnic University from March to June of this year, covering 335 teenagers aged 13-24, 187 males and 168 females. 79.7% of them reported having had sex, compared with 63% in a similar survey in 2008. 70% of those surveyed had sex before the age of 15 and the first sexual experience of the interviewees occurred at 14.7 years old on average, with the youngest age reported to be 11 years old.
Teenagers in the survey have 7.7 sex partners on average, compared with 4.4 in 2008, with those under 16 reporting an average of 6.26 partners. Of those surveyed, 24% reported engaging in sex with their partner in a relationship or with a friend on a casual basis, compared with 27% who had sex with people they met online, outright strangers, or paying customers.
Of the 283 interviewees who had sexual experience, 38.9% involved pregnancy out of wedlock, accounting for 34 males and 76 females; 70% of the latter had abortions and 28.9% choose to give birth. The youngest female who reported having an abortion was just 13 years old, while the youngest unmarried mother was aged 14. Teenage girls who had abortions have experiences trauma as a result, while unmarried teenage mothers are subject to multiple psychological and emotional problems as they need to care for their babies while adapting to the change in their role in society.
The survey also found that schools and workplaces are the most common place where teenagers find their sexual partners, accounting for 55%, followed by bars and clubs at 30%. 12% found their sexual partners online through social media and friend-making applications on mobile phones. The association believes that the increase in sexual activity by teenagers, combined with a lack of contraception, have led to more pregnancies as well as an increase in cases of sexually transmitted disease. It urged related agencies to provide assistance and provide more information to teenagers online.
