Clearer policies on unwed teenage sex needed

KUALA LUMPUR: Policy enforcement and clearer policies are needed to curb increasingly critical sexual misconduct and illicit sex among teenagers.

National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) Human Reproduction Division's Sexuality Unit chief, Dr Hamizah Mohd Hassan, said policies were important to ensure the problem did not prevail.

"We have several policies but they are all vague and do not focus on sexual misconduct or illicit sex," she told Bernama after an expert discussion on tackling the problem of sex out of wedlock and baby dumping among teenagers and school students, here, today.

Dr Hamizah said existing policies leaned towards social and reproductive health education, but gave less attention to illicit sex and sexual misconduct.

"Some teenagers nowadays make sex a career...for example, as sex workers and GROs (guest relations officers) because they get lucrative income. Those involved may be aged from 16 to 19," she added.

Meanwhile, she felt that shelter homes would provide a second chance for teenagers to make up for past mistakes.

"Too many teenagers are getting pregnant from consensual sex out of wedlock now, but I hope shelter homes will focus more on victims of rape and incest," she said.

Former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences lecturer, Dr Fatimah Abdullah, said a holistic approach for families, teenagers and the community was needed because of the lack of policies and integrated programmes for unwed pregnant teens.

"We do not have complete data on them, especially on their socio-economic background, social interactions, heterosexual relationships and their sexual experiences before marriage."

She said this in her working paper titled Social Analysis on Illicit Sex Cases Based on Data From Studies on Pregnancies Out of Wedlock at the expert discussion.

She said methods practised in the West such as the use of contraceptives to prevent pregnancies were not appropriate in the context of Malay Muslim teenagers.

"The rise in teenage pregnancies from this study is a manifestation of biggger issues in the famly and community," she said.

Women and Teenagers' Care Centre (Kewaja) Human Capital camp director and founder, Yahya Mohamed Yusof, said they received 260 unwed pregnant teens this year, an increase from 240 last year.

"Since Kewaja was established in 1988, we took in over 2,500 unwed pregnant teens, and this is why we need a policy towards discussing the issue more seriously," he told Bernama.

Yahya, who has 20 years experience in running shelter homes, said the troubled (pregnant) teens became scared and confused and helpless, while some even lost their own family through rejection, hence they sought refuge.

He said the cooperation of all quarters, especially families, the community and non-governmental organisations, was vital in overcoming prejudices and tackling the problem of unwed teenage pregnancies.