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SLICE OF LIFE
Compounding the problem, Viet-
namese are too embarrassed and sensi-
tive to talk about sex according to Toan,
an office worker.
Despite this, according to recent
statistics from Google, Vietnam is the
country that has the largest number of
people searching for the word ‘sex’.
Trung, a second year student at
the National Economic University, ad-
mits he often searches for sexual edu-
cation on Google as it is better than
learning it in class. Meanwhile, his
parents hardly explain anything about
sex at all.
“I accept that I am very shy and I
will not talk about my sexual feelings
with my parents. If I need to know how
to have sex properly, I will talk to my
brothers,” Trung explains.
Lacking the bravery to talk about sex
in a family situation is common as many
people in Vietnamese society think sexu-
al conversations are embarrassing.
Trung also says their lack of
knowledge on the subject means
young people, especially girls, don’t
know how to how to protect them-
selves, ending in unwanted pregnan-
cies and abortions.
According to the latest national
data, 35.4 per cent of young people
aged 15-19 lack access to contracep-
tives, with a similar figure for the 20-24
age group.
Reports from reproductive health
centres in 63 provinces and cities across
the country last year showed that the
adolescent pregnancies accounted for
3.2 percent total pregnancies, an in-
crease of 0.1 percent over 2011.
Adolescent abortions have ac-
counted for 5 per cent of total abor-
tions in the past few years, according to
the National Hospital for Obstetrics and
Gynaecology.
Vietnam has the highest adoles-
cent abortion rate in Southeast Asia and
the fifth highest in the world according
to information released at a seminar on
hormonal contraceptive methods in Ho
Chi Minh City last year.
Failure of sexual education
Deputy director of the Ministry of
Health’s Maternal and Child Depart-
ment, Nguyen Duc Vinh, says that pre-
venting adolescent pregnancy in the
country is challenging due to the short-
age of awareness, knowledge, services
and funds.
“Families, schools and the commu-
nity collectively have not paid enough
attention to reproductive health care
for adolescents,” he explains.
The network of reproductive
health care services is limited, espe-
cially in remote mountainous and ru-
ral areas.
Vinh adds that the Ministry of Edu-
cation and Training has been editing a
national plan on teaching reproductive
health and HIV/AIDS prevention in uni-
versities, while the Ministry of Home
Affairs has set up a curriculum on living
skills. In the next phase, the curriculum
will be taught as a compulsory subject
at universities.
Vinh has called for international or-
ganisations to continue giving financial
and technical support to help adoles-
cents access the contraceptives they
need. He also proposes the National
Assembly amend the Law on Youth
by adding regulations on adolescents’
rights and responsibilities in sex and
reproductive health care.
Discussion in schools
A survey conducted among the
youth in Asia shows that they are keen
for sex education, but different coun-
tries have different methods of educat-
ing people. For instance, Indonesia and
Korea apply sex education in schools
through books or workshops. In Japan,
sex education is compulsory for chil-
dren from 10 to 11 years old.
The United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) recently encouraged
young Vietnamese to produce a vid-
eo urging schools to increase sexual
education, campaign against adoles-
cent abortions and encourage life skills
among young people.
The video was posted on Youtube,
with a group of young people coming
out and saying that they don’t find talk-
ing about sex embarrassing and they
would prefer candid conversation.
Many agree that schools shouldn’t
wait until young people suffer abuse
to make them aware of sexual har-
assment. They believe that if they are
equipped with adequate, timely, youth-
friendly information and services on
sexual and reproductive health, they
will have a better understanding of safe
sex and how to protect themselves.
A student representative told Time-
out that sexual education doesn’t en-
courage her to have sex earlier or be
more promiscuous; instead, she will
be more confident in making decisions
about sex and smarter in choosing her
future partners.