More teenagers are having sex

Teenagers in Singapore are to be shown graphic images of the effects of sexually transmitted infections to try to dissuade them from having sex.
Health officials are to distribute a 10-page magazine featuring colour pictures of people suffering from diseases such as gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis to 15-year-olds around the country.



It's very graphic, we want to grab their attention and bring across the dangers

Leona Lo
The images will illustrate the serious disfigurement that some STIs can cause.

There is growing concern about the big increase in the number of teenagers who are engaging in sexual activity.

A recent study found nearly one in five Singaporeans aged 13-18 have had sex, up sharply from 3.4% in 1999.

Teenage abortions are also on the rise, with 1,698 abortions, or 13% of last year's total being performed on women aged 20 and younger.

No condoms

A recent global sex survey found one-third of some 870 Singaporeans aged 16 to 30 surveyed practise unsafe sex.

Nearly half said they would have sex with a new partner without a condom.

The government's Health Promotion Board said it wanted teenagers "to feel comfortable reading about the other side of the sex story."

This had to include unpalatable truths about issues such as HIV and other STIs.

Spokesman Leona Lo said: "It's very graphic, we want to grab their attention and bring across the dangers.

"This is what actually happens so it's not blown out of proportion."

But parents and teens shown the new magazine were said to have been shaken by the pictures.

Ben Tay, 15, told the Straits Times: "The pictures are gross, but the scarier the better because it's the fear factor that will stop people from taking sex casually."

Singapore earlier this year signed up to "No Apologies: The Truth About Life, Love and Sex", a programme launched in the United States that advocates abstinence until marriage.

And under Singapore law, people aged under 18 planning to marry must participate in a marriage-preparation programme.

However, nearly all 150 brides enrolled in the course in the last two years were pregnant.

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