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"A new survey, based on interviews of 15,000-odd teens between 13 and 19 from 20 cities including the metros, revealed that around 8.9% gave a history suggestive of sexually transmitted infection at least once. The average age of first sexual contact for boys was 13.72 years and 14.09 years for girls."
What the experts say
The recent study was conducted by MediAngels.com, an urban e-healthcare organization funded by the Union Department of Science and Technology. According to Dr Debraj Shome of MediAngels.com, the numbers of reported STD/HIV cases have doubled than what was recorded for this age bracket in the 2011-12 annual survey conducted by Naco (National AIDS Control Organization).
More than 6.3% boys and 1.3% girls have admitted to have had intercourse at least once. Renowned sexologist, Dr M Watsa has confirmed that the STD cases have increased and the results of the current survey seem to agree with the results of several other studies.
Amita Dhanu, Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), says that while younger boys continue to experiment with sex, girls on the other hand are becoming more familiar with premarital sex which has led to reduced instances of girls complaining about being coerced into having sex by their boyfriends.
Areas of concern
Online pornography seems to have emerged as the main source of information for these children. Owing to the dearth of proper communication channels that offer sane sex advice, 57% teens turn to online media. This figure stands in stark contrast to 6.2% teens who turned to their teachers, 6% adolescents who talked to their mothers, and only 4.2% who had a candid heart-to-heart with their doctors regarding sexual advice.
Often seen as an "activity of excitement", these children disregard sexual health as a priority.
The way out
Experts believe that emphasis must be laid on the right communication channels - parents, teachers, and doctors. According to an expert, sex education has to be "age appropriate, value based and culture specific." Parents too need to become aware of anything new their children might be getting exposed to at school, especially things that they themselves weren't taught at that age.
Also, the need for the government to roll out sex education in schools can't be stressed upon enough. It's only with legitimate knowledge can adolescents be made aware of wrong experimentation, STDs, and underage pregnancies.
http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/need-for-sex-education-heightens-study-reveals-14-years-is-the-new-sex-age-for-indian-kids-244451.html
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