A SURVEY carried out by University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) of teenagers and youth has shown that easy access to pornographic videos is fuelling their sex drive, and subsequently causing a surge in teenage pregnancies in the state.
Getting hooked to these sex scenes is among the top reasons that more teenage girls are getting pregnant even in their tender years, said state Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah today.
She said that the recent survey by Unimas also showed other key factors contributing to pregnancies among wayward teens.
They include dropping out of school by early teens, volatile family relationships, personal problems, substance abuse and sexual grooming by others, as well as peer pressure to try out physical relationships.
“The survey by Unimas showed that 58.7% of pregnant teenage girls had dropped out of schools, and then got involved in sexual relationships and became pregnant.
“Some 60.1% of girls got pregnant before the age of marriage (legal age 18),” Fatimah told a press conference in Kuching today.
“The study showed that in 2023, there were reported cases of 2,026 teen girls who got pregnant in Sarawak.
“That is an increase of teen pregnancies of 32% compared to the 2022 figures,” she said.
Fatimah said that Iban girls comprised the largest number of teen pregnancies, followed by Malays, Bidayuhs and Chinese.
“My ministry will be working out a module with the Education Department to conduct a series of programmes in primary and secondary schools throughout this state, focussing on personal sexuality topics, healthy physical and mental developments and related topics.
“We need to deal with these issues professionally for the sake of our teens,” she said.
Irresponsible movie industry
On December 13, The Vibes had reported that youngsters nowadays have unrestrained access to mobile devices that can view movies and photos on cyberspace depicting romance-sex scenes, causing them to become sexually active even at the very early adolescent years.
The Vibes had spoken to several parents and teachers. They all seemed to identify mobile devices, especially handphones and laptop computers, that can easily connect to the internet via wireless wifi connections, as among the main factors causing youth to be more sexually active.
“Children nowadays have virtually unrestrained access to all sorts of movies and photos on the internet.
“Almost every teenager has handphones and laptops nowadays, even primary school kids,” said secondary school teacher Viviene Ting.
To make matters even more difficult, romance movies featuring popular actors and actresses, such as those from far eastern countries, influence youth with explicit scenes.
On December 8, it was reported that a survey among teenagers coordinated by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry at the national level had found that up to 88% of those aged between 13 to 18 are sexually active.
The findings also revealed that the highest teen pregnancies are purportedly from Kelantan, Sarawak and Penang.
Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri had said that she was aghast with the findings which also noted that many teens are unaware of contraceptives, sexually transmitted diseases and risks to physical and mental health due to pregnancies among the very young.
Nancy pointed out that sex with minors is a crime, and police have also noted an increase in rapes and sexual assault cases involving teens.
She said the community and schools must respond with more educational awareness campaigns to inform teens about the risks of being sexually active.
She also called on women’s groups and religious bodies to work with her ministry to reach out to the teens. – The Vibes, January 16, 2024
