Nearly 40 percent of junior-high school students who reported being sexually active said they did not use contraception the last time they had sex, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said in a report on Thursday.
The report, which collected about 5,700 valid responses in 2018 to investigate health-related behaviors among adolescents, showed that the number of junior-high school students who were sexually active rose 2.3 percent from a decade ago to 5.7 percent.
Past reports showed that 70 to 80 percent of female junior-high school students who had sex used birth control, but the rate dropped to 61 percent in 2018, the latest report showed.
Sex without contraceptives, such as condoms, can lead to unwanted pregnancies and brings a higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases, HPA Maternal and Child Health Division director Tseng Kuei-chin (曾桂琴) said, adding that females who have sex at an early age have an increased risk of cervical cancer.
The increased rate of sexual intercourse among junior-high school students in the nation could be linked to the overwhelming quantity of pornography online, with some content giving teenagers misconceptions about sex, Tseng said, citing another HPA report from 2018.
The report showed that at least four out of 10 teenagers had been exposed to pornography, among whom more than 50 percent said that the first time they were exposed to it was when they were 10 to 13 years old.
Parents should spend more time with their children and pay attention to their interpersonal relationships, Tseng said.
It is important to teach them well and such conversations should not be embarrassing, she said.
In other news, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said that 9,183 cases of sexual assault were reported last year, including cases where the same person reported an assault more than once, with 833 reportedly committed by people they met on the Internet.
“Many thought the person they were meeting online would be their Prince Charming, but it was actually the Big Bad Wolf,” Department of Protective Services Deputy Director Kuo Tsai-jung (郭彩榕) said.
Last year, 8,160 people reported sexual assaults, 4,267 of whom were minors aged 12 to 18, 396 of whom were allegedly assaulted by someone they met online, ministry statistics showed.
Teenagers should not share their personal information online and never take or upload private photos, Kuo said, adding that it is safer not to meet strangers on the Internet in person.
If teenagers have sent private pictures or videos to strangers, it is important that they do not blame themselves too much, even if the material is spread online, Kuo said.
Parents must support their children at times like this, as the minor is a victim and “it should not be the fault of the victim,” she said.
The ministry has established the Institute of Watch Internet Network, which offers online safety education, including dealing with online sharing of private pictures and videos.
After receiving such complaints, the institute contacts the police immediately and if the content is posted on a foreign platform, cooperates with international non-governmental organizations to demand the removal of the content, it said.
The ministry’s 113 hotline, which allows people to report or ask questions about domestic violence, sexual assault or harassment, can also provide protection in a timely manner, the institute said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS