Reproductive health advocate and UP College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Dean Michael Tan said he found the 1.4 million figure of mothers aged 15 to 19 years old the most striking.
“Talk about kids having kids,” he said.
The researchers also looked at the behavior of the youth, aged 15 to 24 years old, with regards to pornography and other sexual acts facilitated by technology.
According to Marquez, there is a gender disparity on exposure to pornography, with more males having been exposed to sexually explicit reading materials, websites, videos, and movies. But for both sexes, 56.5 percent have been exposed to videos and movies, 35.6 percent have been exposed to reading materials, and 15.5 percent have been exposed to websites.
NCR and Region IV-A are the most exposed to pornography, while ARMM is the least exposed. NCR also has the most access to pornographic websites at 33.3 percent, while ARMM has the least, at 2.5 percent.
One in every four youth have also sent or received a sex video through their cellphone or the Internet, with the highest number among males, the older youth, and those who have never married. NCR and Region IV-A have the highest proportion of youth at 29.5 percent and 29.1 percent respectively, while ARMM has the lowest at 6.6 percent.
One in every 100 youth has also recorded himself/herself/his or her partner having sex, which Marquez said translates to about 150,000 youth. Four in every 100 have had sex with someone they met online or through text messages, and six in every 100 have engaged in phone sex.
These sexual behaviors indicate a worsening trend for the youth, said Nativided, particularly with the increased prevalence of premarital sex and the unchanging, low use of contraception and/or protection against STI.
MANILA, Philippines - How much sexy time do the Filipino youth engage in?
Quite a lot, as indicated by the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS 4), which the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (DRDF) revealed on Thursday at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium in UP Diliman, Quezon City.
The study shows that one in every three youth aged 15 to 24 years old has engaged in premarital sex, the number increasing by more than 14 percent from almost 20 years ago, when the second YAFS was conducted. This translates to about 6.2 million youth who have engaged in sexual intercourse before marriage, according to UPPI’s Maria Paz Marquez.
She noted also a narrowing gap in the number of males and females who have engaged in premarital sex: 35.5 percent of males and 28.7 percent of females in 2013, from 26.1 percent of males and 10.2 percent of females in 1994.
The National Capital Region (NCR) and Central Luzon have the highest prevalence of premarital sex among youth with 40.9 percent and 39.1 percent respectively. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), meanwhile, has the lowest prevalence with 7.7 percent.
A worrisome number, said project coordinator Dr. Josefina Natividad, was the fact that 78 percent of those who engaged in premarital sex for the first time were unprotected against the risk of pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted infection (STI). There were 73.4 percent of males and 83.8 percent of females who did not use any form of protection during this first sexual act.
Marquez said this suggested that most of those who engaged in premarital sex did not want or plan for it to happen. She added that condoms and the withdrawal method were the more common form
Higher risks for pregnancy, STI
She added that new technology brings forth new sexual activities and new ways of meeting sexual partners, which could mean higher risks for pregnancy and STI. The increased prevalence of sexual activities could also mean that the youth had new normative standards regarding sex.
While new technology can be tools to increase the risks, she stressed that these can also serve as tools to mitigate risks.
With the Supreme Court soon to decide on petitions against the Reproductive Health Law, this was the kind of information that needed to be presented to the high tribunal, said Tan. It was precisely those who were against the legislation, he added, who were responsible particularly for the high fertility rates.
Reena Doña of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) added that such data was the evidence that would back the Reproductive Health Law, especially as girls in the poorest households, living in the most remote areas, and did not know how to read or write, werethe ones more likely to get pregnant at an early age as compared to their educated counterparts in the urban areas.
Early pregnancy, she added, denied these young girls of their basic human rights, caused them to stop schooling, and left their potentials unfulfilled. The cycle of poverty persists.
She also stressed that in many cases, early pregnancy was not the result of a deliberate choice on the girls’ part, but rather of the absence of choice beyond their control. Usually, it also results from sexual violence or coercion, she said.
Access to correct information for them to prevent pregnancy and to protect their bodies from STI was crucial, Doña said. This would further the goal of a world where every pregnancy is wanted and every childbirth is safe, she said.
YAFS 4 is funded by the Australian government through the UNFPA and the Department of Health – Philippine Council for Philippine Health Research and Development.
There were 19,178 respondents, with each one interviewed by researchers for at least an hour. Each of the 17 regions had about 1,000 respondents. 78 provinces, 681 cities and municipalities, and more than 18,000 households were covered from the period of December 2012 to March 2013.
bahe wrote:im not a fan of this love teams ,,, nakakatawa na lang yan
True! Kahit noong high school and college di talaga ako nahilig sa mga loveteams and teleserye sa TV. Ewan ko, wla ako talaga tiyaga manood ng mga ganyan. Tapos yung iba susubaybayan pa.
Ang hinahanap ng mga mata ko nun ay yung mga magaganda na puwede isabak sa pageant haha. Kaya nga faney ako agad ni Megan nung unang araw pa lang ng Starstruck at saka ni Valerie sa PBB.
I was also wishing for Kristine Hermosa and Cindy Kurleto to join Binibini that time.
Di naman cguro, eh paano naman nung panahon ni Guy & Pip, Vi & Bot, Romnick & Sheryl, Gabby & Sharon and etc.. Its just that we are now living in digital world na mas exposed ang teens sa porn and social media.. Mas madali na sa kanila makipag harutan at landian without their parents knowing ..
EWAN KO NGA BA BA'T MAHILIG ANG PINOY SA LOVETEAM EK EK NA YAN, KAYA HINDI NAGIGING PRODUCTIVE ANG INDUSTRIYA NATIN KASI WALANG VARIETY AT PURO GASGAS MGA STORY , BUTI NA LANG BUMABAWI ANG MGA LOW BUDGETED FILMS LIKE THE WOMAN WHO LEFT NA KAPAPANALO LANG NG VENICE TOP PLUM!
Wala kasing cable karamihang pinoy kaya nag tsa-tsaga sa kakaumay na love teams! Lokong loko naman mga pinoy, dali mapakilig... Madali mapa-uto!
Shut up nalang ako sabi ni Mr Baduy Padilla!
Mula noon, hangang ngayon, uso na tlaga ang loveteams, itanong nyo pa yan sa mga lola and even grand lola nyo.... the late Nestor de Villa & Nida Blanca are examples of loveteam na tinangkilik ng karamihan .. Kaya I don't trust this conclusion, napaka lame naman.. nasa technology yan and internet age..
Teen pregnancy rates will keep increasing in the Philippines, regardless of teen couples, if the church will continue meddling with the government and making birth control largely unavailable to the public. That's all it is.