Eds., Wisdom Quarterly; Kounteya Sinha (TNN)
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Perhaps India and the United States of America, the largest democracy and the most famous one, respectively, are not very different after all (TribuneIndia.com). |
NEW DELHI, India - This may come as a shock for those who oppose the introduction of "sex education" in Indian schools, but premarital sex has been found to be common among young males. However, a higher percentage of females aged 15-24 years have had sex before reaching the age of 15.
A large scale youth survey conducted under the aegis of the Union Health Ministry in the six Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar [which has the most important sites on the Buddhist Circuit], Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu has thrown up some interesting findings.
Around 15% of young men and 4% young women interviewed admitted to having pre-marital sex. Shockingly, 24% of the women had premarital sex for the first time before age 15 compared to 9% men.
Premarital sex was also found to be more common in rural India.
According to a report prepared by the Population Council in Delhi and International Institute of Population Sciences in Mumbai (Bombay), youth in rural areas are also more likely than those in urban areas to initiate a premarital sexual relationship by age 15 (29% compared to 17% among young males, and 46% compared to 31% among young females).
Around 6% of rural youth compared to 1% of urban youth had their sexual debut before age 18.
Over 26% of young men and 40% of young women reported that they had spent time alone with their first romantic partner at age 15 or below.
Many of the premarital sexual experiences reported by the youth were risky. Around 25% of young men and 21% of young women reporting premarital sex had sex with more than one partner.
Moreover, consistent condom use was limited only 13% of young men and 3% of young women reported condom use in all premarital encounters.
While sexual relations were generally unsafe across all the six states, some notable state-level differences were found. For example, among young men, multiple partner relations were reported by 32% in five of the six states, but by relatively few (14%) in Rajasthan.
Releasing the study, Union Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said young people in India face multiple risks associated with sexual and reproductive health, which include pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality, delayed abortion seeking, unmet contraceptive needs, and lack of knowledge to make informed decisions.
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