Hong Kong students generally possess inadequate knowledge about sexual matters, despite government efforts to promote sex education in recent years, a study has concluded.
The study, carried out by Chinese University last year, found that about half the respondents believed that people over 60 no longer had any interest in sex. More than two-thirds said the female orgasm was not as satisfying as the male one, while one-third believed masturbation indicated a poor relationship.
The university interviewed 3,227 secondary students and 1,729 students in Primary Four to Primary Six.
Only 15 per cent of the primary students had discussed issues related to sex, such as dating and masturbation, with their parents, the report said.
Chinese University psychology professor Catherine Tang So-kum said: 'Parents and teachers don't know how to teach children about sex.
'They rely on each other and believe that they are not responsible for educating kids about sex.
'Hong Kong students usually obtain sexual knowledge from their classmates.
'They pass around false information and some of them turn to pornographic channels for sexual knowledge.'
Professor Tang said one out of 20 primary school students had been exposed to various forms of pornography including websites, VCDs, magazines and telephone sex.
The chairwoman of the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation, Siao Fong-fong, said its centre received many phone calls about youngsters who had viewed pornographic websites then harassed other students.
'They did not know that their behaviour would harm other people,' Dr Siao said.
The report said there was an urgent need for age-relevant sex education and sexual abuse prevention programmes for students.
Chinese University and the foundation have designed a new course for Primary Five and Six pupils.
They can learn about sex-related issues in a mobile classroom, a van which will visit schools. Professor Tang said that unlike the programme for junior primary pupils, the new course would explain more about why children should speak up if they were sexually abused.
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