i'm shocked

Why kids need sex education?
Girl, 9, pregnant
Case of Primary 3 pupil cited by counsellor at youth forum amid concerns about teen pregnancy


THE Primary 3 pupil was just nine years old, but she was already six months pregnant with a 14-year-old schoolmate's child.
The memory of the distraught parents and child sitting in her NuLife Care and Counselling Services office in Little India three years ago still sticks in counsellor Sheena Jebal's mind.

The girl could well be the youngest pregnancy case in Singapore, judging by a Straits Times check with local hospitals, youth social workers, teen shelters and pregnancy helplines.

But though her case is extremely rare, it highlights ongoing concerns about youth pregnancy.

Figures on the ground indicate that thousands of teens are experimenting sexually, say youth social workers and counsellors.

Last year, Ms Jebal's centre alone came across at least 30 cases of teens having sex. The youngest male was about 12 and the youngest female about 13.

A Straits Times check with restructured hospitals here revealed that between 2000 and this year, the youngest female to give birth at KK Women's and Children's Hospital was 12 years old. The youngest at Singapore General Hospital was 14. The National University Hospital declined comment.

As required by law, they were reported to the police as cases of underage sex.

Ministry of Health figures for 2001 to 2005 show an average of around 1,500 teen abortions every year. In 2005, the exact figure was 1,279 and in 2004, the number was 1,341.

Nearly all the teens who aborted their babies in 2005 were between 15 and 19 years old and unmarried. Slightly more than half were Chinese and a third were Malay.

The figures go to the heart of a controversy over the issue of how early children should be exposed to sex education in schools.

Ms Jebal cited the example of the pregnant nine-year-old during a youth forum to counter the complaints of one participant, who felt her sister in Primary 4 was too young to start learning about sex.

Called 'Yes/No' Youth In Relationships, it was organised by Republic Polytechnic's Indian Cultural Group and Narpani Pearavai Youth Executive Committee last Saturday.

Ms Jebal said the nine-year-old had begun to experiment with sex with a schoolmate at home when her parents, both professionals, were at work.

Recounting the tense one-hour discussion she had with the family to The Straits Times, Ms Jebal said: 'Her parents taught her how to use a sanitary napkin, but didn't educate her about menstruation or sex.

'They felt she was too young to know at her age. There is no such thing as being too young to know,' said Ms Jebal.

Ms Tan Bee Joo of the Singapore Children's Society cited several areas of concern, including lack of adult supervision over the use of the Internet, where teens can easily access pornographic sites and 'meet' strangers online.

'It creates opportunities for children to chat with strangers, go on blind dates, sell their bodies for money to satisfy material wants,' she warned.

Also, many parents are not giving their children the right sexual knowledge or instilling proper moral values in them at a young age, she said.

Ms Tan, who is head of the society's Students Service Hub in Bukit Merah, said: 'We have many students asking many sexuality-related questions, which many adults would never have thought children at this age know.

'Children need to be taught to take responsibility for their own actions, but this should be accompanied by providing them with the right information.'

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another reason i feel its better to be open with such topics BEFORE they try to experiment on their own WITHOUT even knowing what it is