Young India fails to mix sex and safety
Reported February 23, 2010
New Delhi: More and more Indians may be shedding their inhibitions about sex and getting more physical than generations gone by, but they seem poor at managing libido and protection together.
Despite huge campaigns focusing on safe sex, a majority of Indians engage in unprotected sex. Condom use in premarital sexual relationships is almost non-existent.
According to a study, only 13% of men and 3% of women used condoms during sex. Intriguingly, most of those who were surveyed were aware of the benefits of contraception.
The recklessness could have a reason. The study reveals that a large chunk of the youth surveyed felt uncomfortable buying contraceptives, including condoms, from a healthcare provider or pharmacy.
The study, Youth In India: Situation And Need, by the Mumbai-based International Institute of Population Sciences, says that not only were a substantial number of youngsters getting involved in premarital romance and sexual relationships, most also indulged in high-risk sexual behaviour, including having multiple partners and using condoms inconsistently.
The survey involved 50,848 married and unmarried young men and women.
Incidentally, 25% men had sex with two or more partners while 21% young women reported multiple partners all this without using condoms. But urban young men were more likely than their rural counterparts to report consistent condom use (21% versus 11%).
Only 43% young men and 59%young women who were sexually experienced before marriage knew that a woman can get pregnant because of just one unprotected sexual encounter. This reveals a pathetic level of awareness about the reproductive system and human anatomy.
This casual and unsafe sex often took place in the shadow of fear as a majority of young women feared pregnancy or infection at the time of first or unprotected sex. As many as 62% of unmarried young women reported fear of both pregnancy and infection, compared to 55% of men. Condoms and contraceptives became part of the sexual encounters only at a subsequent stage as the relationship progressed.
Similarly, in-depth awareness of contraceptive methods was limited among youngsters as 15% men and 39% women did not know that one condom can be used for only one sexual act. Awareness of HIV/Aids was also limited among such sexually experienced youth.
The study was commissioned by the Union ministry of health and family welfare. Its findings break the widespread perception that the youth in India do not find opportunities to mix and form romantic relationships and that the incidence of premarital sex is negligible.
It found that 23% of young men and 21% of young women had either been approached by or had approached a person of the opposite sex for a romantic liaison and it happened before marriage for many.
The study, for the first time, looked at key transitions experienced by young people in six states Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. These states were selected to represent the different geographic and socio-cultural regions within the country, and they together represent two-fifths of the countrys population.
Source : DNA
