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Here’s Why Telling Malaysian Teens Not To Have Sex Doesn’t Work

Here’s Why Telling Malaysian Teens Not To Have Sex Doesn’t Work

And some tips on what you should do instead.

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Religious conservatives in Malaysia often blame things like Valentine’s Day, pornography and Western media as the main causes behind social ills affecting Malaysian teenagers, especially in terms of premarital sex, unwanted pregnancies and, worst of all, baby dumping. 

While most of us would label these parties as being overzealous, the reality is that their concerns aren’t entirely unfounded.

Concerns Are Valid

Statistics show that since 2014, Malaysia has recorded an upward trend of baby dumping cases.

Info via The Star.

Meanwhile, the trend for HIV cases in the country has shifted to sexual transmission as its main cause.

Besides the obvious effects like unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, Unicef Malaysia reported that unsafe sex can also affect teenagers mentally, put their developing bodies at risk through childbearing, lead to adolescent father and motherhood which also affects their education and employment opportunities.

Info via Kementerian Kesihatan.

While these religious authorities are justifiably worried, it seems that their understanding of these social problems is wholly misled. This is why despite their continuous efforts to warn and threaten our youth against partaking in social vices, the numbers are not decreasing.

These Activities Are The Result Of Sexual Curiosity

Premarital sex, as well as other sexually explorative activities like watching pornography, are the result of our teens being sexually curious.

Blaming Valentine’s Day and the media for these social ills is a complete cop-out on our responsibility as a community to properly educate and inform our teenagers about this curiosity.

Screenshot of a news headline from The Telegraph.

Research shows that sexuality is an intrinsic part of human nature, and sexual curiosity is a natural part of human development which starts during the teenage years as people undergo biological changes during puberty.

Instead of trying to suppress sexuality in teens, we should strive to help all teens, including teenage boys, achieve a healthy understanding of intimacy, sex, and reproduction.

Why Teens Become Sexually Curious

Adolescence is a phase when major developments of sexuality take place. Biological changes cause their secondary sexual organs to mature. At the same time, these hormones also influence a teenager’s interest in sexual relationships.

(Credit: Ageless Medica)

During puberty, a teen’s need for closeness and intimacy increases, this drives them to explore different appropriate ways to express these feelings – this is sexual curiosity – and it can lead to exposure to pornography, indulgence in sexual activities and if not managed properly, make them vulnerable to sexual abuse.

This development doesn’t occur in isolation but is influenced by their relationships with their family, society, and culture.

Studies found that boys who experience puberty earlier and have good body image are more confident, secure, and independent compared to late bloomers. However, they also tend to have increased aggressiveness due to the surge of hormones and are more likely to be sexually active and have risky behaviour.

Risky behaviour includes drug abuse, smoking and underage drinking. (Credit: The Oz Blog)

On the other hand, early maturing girls tend to be more self-conscious, insecure, and more likely to face sexual advances from older boys. This results in higher chances of unwanted pregnancies and exposure to alcohol and drug abuse.

Understanding Teenage Sexual Development Is Incredibly Important.

Decades of research show that abstinence-focused sex education programs are ineffective, stigmatising, and harmful to young people in the long-run. Parents and the rest of society can’t continue to ignore sexual curiosity in our teenagers and just expect them to abstain.

Instead, understanding the factors that influence sexuality would help parents and society understand the difficulties their children are facing and help them guide their children through it better.


Did you have “the talk” with your child? Share your experiences with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

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