PETALING JAYA: Sex education among young Malaysians, particularly on topics such as consent, coercion, boundaries, and healthy relationships, is still not being taught properly or at the necessary level, says child activist Datuk Dr Hartini Zainudin.
The Yayasan Chow Kit founder said that many families still do not openly discuss such issues with their children, leaving them to figure things out on their own.
“The gap is not just in reproductive health knowledge as it’s also in communication, protection and access.
“Teenage pregnancy can affect both health and mental wellbeing.
“Many young people today are exposed to sex through the Internet and peers before they are properly taught about their bodies, consent, relationships, or consequences.
“So they may know ‘something’, but not what really matters,” she said when contacted.
Nancy attributed this to gaps in young people’s understanding of reproductive health, relationships, and personal boundaries, as well as the influence of peers contributing to risky behaviour.
She said the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has implemented various initiatives to curb teen pregnancies, including the Repro-ductive and Social Health Edu-cation (Pekerti) Policy and Action Plan.
Hartini noted that not all teenage pregnancies are the result of “risky behaviour”, as other factors such as peer pressure, manipulation, abuse, incest, and rape can also play a role.
She said that while efforts have been made to address online child sexual abuse, incest is still an issue often overlooked.
“We are battling to find the solutions of online child abuse but what about incest?
“It is the highest form of sexual abuse in the country and remains a huge child protection issue,” she said.
She also said that laws such as the Child Act 2001 and the Penal Code do not prevent pregnancies but only come into play after an incident has occurred.
Hartini suggested stronger preventive measures through earlier education, safe spaces for young people to ask questions and services they can access without fear or shame.
She also recommended peer mentoring instead of just adults providing relevant information.
Children’s Protection Society Malaysia (KL branch) chairman Tengku Datuk Asra Jehan Tengku Azlan said that laws are merely guidelines and punishments are not a cure but preventive in nature.
She cited the example of Thailand, where cases of domestic violence and teenage pregnancies have been shown to correlate with the community’s socioeconomic environment.
“The lowest statistics for domestic violence and teenage pregnancies were in the south of Thailand, which surprised me, as our northern states, sharing the same culture as southern Thailand, still have high incidents of domestic violence and unwanted pregnancies,” she said.
She added that authorities in Thailand work collectively with the local communities and religious authorities to address such issues.
Tengku Asra Jehan also noted that Thailand does not have cases of ‘baby dumping’ due to sex education and family planning initiatives, which are not considered taboo within their culture.
She said that Malaysia must find a way to overcome its cultural taboo on sex education while encouraging constructive family planning.
