SEXUALITY Sexuality is a central aspect of being human throughout life and encompasses sex, gender identities and roles,

sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, practices, roles and relationships. While sexuality can include all of these dimensions, not all of them are always experienced or expressed. Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, ethical, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors. http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/gender_rights/sexual_health/en/
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SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Research article Relationships, love and sexuality: what the Filipino teens think and feel Jokin de Irala1*, Alfonso Osorio2, Cristina L del Burgo1, Vina A Belen3, Filipinas O de Guzman4,5, Mara C Calatrava1 and Antonio N Torralba3 BMC Public Health 2009, http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/282#sec3 The respondents of the study were representative of private and public schools of the Philippines. We performed weighted analyses in the descriptive results in order for them to be representative of Filipino students. According to the Philippine National Statistics Office, 81% of Filipinos are Catholic, and 8.2% belong to other Christian religions [41], which is similar to our weighted sample distribution. Regarding the distribution of sex, institutions report higher enrollment ratios for girls than for boys. Specifically, in secondary education, net enrollment ratios (NER) are 54% for boys and 65% for girls [42]. Since sex ratio (male/female) for these ages is approximately 1 [43], this means that approximately 55% of students are girls in high schools. This accounts for the higher female presence in our sample. Referring to our paper sample of teens, the main information source about love and sexuality is friends. This is similar to studies from Sweden, USA, United Kingdom, Czech Republic and Spain[44-49]. Existing literature likewise provides evidence that media (Internet, magazines) are the second source of information, outranking parents, as happens in our male sample [45,49]. A study in Nigeria, however, sets parents in the first place among in-school girls [50].

Literature shows that communication with parents protects against early sexual initiation and against risky behaviors [51,52]. Conversely, information sources which are mostly used in our sample (peers, media) are not usually described as ideal for educating teens [46,53]. At the same time, parents' opinion regarding sexuality and other related topics is well valued by teens in our study. This is confirmed by surveys which also show parents being rated as preferred sources rather than as actual sources [47]. Furthermore, parents' attitudes toward certain risk behaviors (such as smoking and drinking alcohol) seem to be protective against those behaviors in their children [54]. This seems to show that parents' opinions are indeed taken into account when given to children. There is therefore room for further encouraging parents to talk more with their children about sexuality, including aspects related to feelings and emotions that could help them make better sexual and reproductive choices. This is specially valid for daughters, who give in our data much importance to their parents' opinion. With regard to knowledge of sexuality, we observe that teens in most cases (specially among girls) have not talked about sexuality topics with their parents, but that they would want to know more. We must also stress that teens' desire for information is not limited to the biological aspects of sexuality. In fact, they are much interested to know more about the emotional aspects of relationships and sexuality. Examples are to know more about how to manage one's feelings and sexual drive; meaning of "falling in love"; how to know if the person one is dating is the right person; and how to tell the difference between desire, sexual attraction and love. Having a better understanding of these issues can be very useful to avoid premature sex [52], and parents agree that these aspects should be addressed [55]. Indeed, these issues are related to the perceived well-being of teens. With sex education programs concentrating on biological information [36], they are in effect highlighting topics that are of relatively lower interest to teens while downplaying education in the affective aspects of human sexuality which could be a powerful means to empower teens to make healthier life choices [56]. To our knowledge, the issue of making emphasis on affective aspects is seldom brought up in sex education policies. Regarding sex differences in this issue, we find that, in general, girls talk more with their parents about most topics, and also want to know more. Boys only talk more about their own physical changes, and have a bigger desire to know more about these changes and about topics that might be related to their higher sexual drive.

Study author Dr Anita Chandra of the RAND Corporation said adolescents received a considerable amount of information about sex through television and the

problem was that programmes such as these typically did not highlight the risks and responsibilities. Teenage girls who watch a lot of TV shows with a high sexual content are twice as likely to become pregnant, according to a study.Boys watching similar programmes were also more likely to get a girl pregnant, the research in found.The study authors said limiting exposure to sexual content on TV might reduce teen pregnancies.Experts urged parents to talk more openly with their children about sex. Study author Dr Anita Chandra of the RAND Corporation said adolescents received a considerable amount of information about sex through television and the problem was that programmes such as these typically did not highlight the risks and responsibilities. COPYRIGHT 2008 MGN Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning Bibliography for: "TV link to teen sex; In association with the NHS" "TV link to teen sex; In association with the NHS". Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England). FindArticles.com. 21 Jan, 2012. COPYRIGHT 2008 MGN Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6783/is_2008_Nov_17/ai_n31008591/? tag=content;col1

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Pregnancy

Teenage Pregnancy In The Philippines--its reality must read this article to know details Manila : Philippines | Apr 20, 2010 at 1:19 AM PDT BY Drirum 2023 VIEWS: 4,672 This addresses unplanned teenage pregnancy from a human-rights-based perspective. Many programs focus only on the negative aspects of young people's sexual and reproductive health; putting rights at the centre of teenage sexual health avoids treating adolescents as a homogeneous collection of discrete problems. Taking a rights-based approach to adolescent sexual and reproductive health encompasses the inter-relationships and complexity of factors influencing choices and decisions. In this, we explore the meaning of a rights-based approach and examine its implementation in the provision of sexuality, education and health services. Some 16.5 million Filipinos belong to the 15-24 year old age group. We are forced with a glaring truth that at a very young age, a lot of young people today have children of their own. 30 % of all births belong to this age group; and by the age of 20, 25% of the youth are already mothers. Statistics show that every year at least 64,000 teenagers have abortions, and those are statistics from a country where abortion is illegal, yet we claim we are Catholics, who are preserving and valuing life. We might say that the pregnancy of these teenagers is just the mere result of the gratification of sexual urges. Yes we might say that. That pregnancy would not occur if studies had been prioritized instead of the relationship of the opposite sex. That if there were no premarital sex (PMS), there would be no pregnancy. On one simple glance, we would judge these teenagers guilty. Period. As a whole, the situation is grim for pregnant teenage girls ands their babies. Forced with few options with nowhere to turn to, many girls find various ways to get rid of the fetus. In a few cases, some simply disguise their bellies and hide their pregnancy from everyone Drirum is based in Rwalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, and is a Stringer fohttp://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/5644997-teenage-pregnancy-in-thephilippinesits-reality-must-read-this-article-to-know-details

IV. Sexual activity Out-of-School Youth Face Higher Risk If schools can have this kind of sex education and counseling practices, what about the need of young people who cannot attend school due to poverty? It may seem appropriate to assume that this sector needs more focus. For one, they have more free time for social interaction and consequently, more chances at sexual encounters. Secondly, most of them live in depressed communities and are therefore situated in families where parents are more focused on how to earn a living rather than on giving their children counseling about sex. Worse, their parents could be siring more children than what they can really afford. Thus, children in these families may tend to think like their parents, i.e., having more children mean getting more blessings. It is therefore also crucial to have both meaningful sex education and direct counseling in both formal and non-formal education systems. Schools can easily adopt a more relevant curriculum while local governments (i.e. barangays) can implement sex counseling programs directed towards the youth especially those who have no access to formal education.

Read more at Suite101: Rising Teenage Pregnancy in the Philippines: Young People Need More Direct Counseling | Suite101.com http://mary-annevelas.suite101.com/rising-teenage-pregnancy-in-the-philippinesa116197#ixzz1kBnWXZlH http://mary-anne-velas.suite101.com/rising-teenage-pregnancy-in-the-philippinesa116197

Contraceptive use Teenage Contraceptive Use on the Decline July 27th, 2009 No Comments Results from a new study are showing that between the years 2003 and 2007, the use of contraceptives like condoms showed a decline in some groups of teenagers. Throughout the 1990s and into the new century, there was much

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headway made to improve the use of contraceptives amongst teenagers in order to reduce the growing number of teenage pregnancies. In fact, between the years 1991 and 2003, the use of condoms by teenagers engaged in sexual activities showed a steady increase and a noted decrease in terms of unwanted pregnancies. However, this new study shows that after 2003, there was an unexpected decline in contraceptive use. John Santelli, a professor at Columbia University and the chair of their Heilbrunn Departmetn of Population and Family Health, joined forces with researchers from the Guttmacher Institute for this study. These researchers utilized the date retrieved from the participants of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. All participants were females who were currently in high school (in grades 9th through 12th). Three variables were researched including the contraceptive utilized, the effectiveness of their chosen contraceptive in preventing an unintended pregnancy and their sexual activity. Within the time frame of 2003 and 2007, there was no significant change in terms of sexual activity with these teengagers; however, a reduction in the use of contraceptives was noted. Dr. Santelli states, After major improvements in teen contraceptive use in the 1990s and early 2000s, which led to significant declines in teen pregnancy, it is disheartening to see a reversal of such a positive trend. Teens are still having sex, but it appears many are not taking the necessary steps to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. Those involved with this study speculate what may have caused this decline. One theory is that HIV prevention programs amongst this age group have not been as strong as they could be; another theory is the push towards abstinence-only sex education stemming from policies in the last administration. This type of sex education does not touch on subjects of contraception. Researchers in this study highly recommend efforts to push for the use of contraceptives in this age level at the national and state levels. They also feel that sex education should not discuss only abstinence but truthful information about contraceptive use, as well. http://www.condomman.com/articles/condom-use/teenage-contraceptive-use-onthe-decline/