ALMOST?HALF?of the boys among more than 1 600 schoolchildren in a recent Government-sponsored survey reported having had sexual intercourse, but only a quarter of the girls made a similar claim.
This was one of the findings highlighted by?Acting?Chief?Medical?Officer Dr Elizabeth?Ferdinand in a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Pan?American Health Organization (PAHO).
“All secondary schools [including the 22 Government institutions] were invited to participate,” Ferdinand said, “and a total of 1 629 children between the ages of 13 and 15 were surveyed on a variety of topics. These included questions on nutrition, drugs, hygiene, sexual activity, tobacco use and other relevant topics.
“Boys were significantly more likely than girls to be sexually active or initiate sexual activity before 14 years or to have had two or more sexual partners. 44.9 per cent of males and 25.4 per cent of females indicated that they have had sexual intercourse.”
Ferdinand was speaking at the launch of the United Nations Population?Fund (UNFPA) State of the World Population Report on “Adolescent Pregnancy”.
