Many young South Africans believe there is never good reason to have an abortion, and many parents are not talking to their children about sex, a recent youth sex survey shows.
The recently released findings of the Praekelt Foundation’s second YoungAfricaLive (YAL) Youth Sex Survey include a range of issues from HIV and relationships to culture and heritage.
YAL is a mobile platform with close to a million users, and the survey was based around more than 50 questions and more than 170 000 responses by the YAL user community.
YAL was launched in SA, but has expanded to Tanzania and Kenya.
Praekelt Foundation founder, Gustav Praekelt, said the tension between being young and living fully in the digital age, and coming from families and communities where culture and religions were still important, was amply reflected in this year’s survey.
Some of the findings include:
* 53 percent of respondents said there was never a good reason to have an abortion.
* 60 percent said their parents had never talked to them about sex.
* 80 percent answered “false” to the question: The practice of lobolo is outdated: True or false?
* In response to the question: “Does it matter how many men a woman has slept with?” 44 percent answered, “Yes, because it means she has no morals”.
* 32 percent of YAL users did not want to know their HIV status.
* In response to the question: “Where did you learn about sex?” 44 percent answered “Nobody told me anything, it just happened to me one day”.
* 71 percent responded, “No, love is more important than convenience” to the question: “Is it okay to date somebody just for their money?”
* In response to the question: “In April 2012, the perpetrators of a teen gang rape were caught on video. What was this crime really about?” 46 percent answered: “It reveals a real problem with the way some guys relate to women”. - Cape Argus