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.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS