i Report Issue No. 3 2005 - Philippine Center for Investigative ...

T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N
leading to infertility. Untreated
syphilis may lead to nerve damage,
mental disorientation, and
eventually death. Yet approximately
80 percent of men and
women who experience reproductive
health complaints such
as painful urination, abnormal
vaginal/penile discharge, genital
warts, or ulcers do not even
consult a health professional.
This may be partly why the
official number of STI cases in
the country seems deceptively
low. The 2003 National Demographic
and Health Survey, for
instance, says only 7.6 percent
of men aged 15-19 and less than
2.2 percent of those aged 20-49
reported an STI or STI symptoms.
But underreporting may be
at work here; while public health
centers usually report the STI to
the health department for statistical
purposes and the necessary
contact tracing, private clinics are
not obliged to do the same.
Even patients of private
clinics rarely openly acknowledge
their sexual practices or
articulate the suspicion they
might have an STI. And the
young, for instance, would not
tell their parents they think they
may an infection because of
what this may imply about their
sex lives (which their parents
often assume they don’t have).
But they also might be too embarrassed
to tell their barkada
so they go on the Internet and
self-medicate. The good news
is that some STIs like gonorrhea
and chlamydia are responsive
to antibiotics. The bad news is
that with self-medication, these
drugs have been abused by
over medication, under medication,
wrong dosage, or prematurely
stopping medication
before the required time frame.
As a result, doctors say they are
beginning to see strains that are
resistant to antibiotics.
When Lina (not her real
name) experienced a burning,
itching sensation while
peeing two months ago, the
first person she consulted was
her yaya. The 18-year-old’s
trusted nanny told her to use
a feminine hygiene wash and
put a hot water bottle on her
tummy before sleeping. But
the symptoms—which by then
included an abnormal yellowish
discharge—did not ease;
Lina thought it was time to
consult a doctor, by herself.
Lina was shocked when the
doctor told her she had gonorrhea.
She is sexually active, she
admits, but has been with only
one partner, her high school
sweetheart. They have been together
for four years. Now she
believes he has been unfaithful
to her and gave her gonorrhea.
Lina says she had planned
to wait until marriage to have
sex but college, with its accompanying
independence, freedom,
and openness of thought,
challenged her long-held
traditional beliefs. “Suddenly it’s
ok to be affectionate with your
boyfriend,” she says. “It’s ok to
have sex with your boyfriend
because everyone is doing it.”
They did not use condoms.
“I’m not an idiot,” she says. “I
know I can get pregnant but he
did not want to use one…” Her
voice trails off, and then she says,
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter now.
Di naman ako nabuntis, ‘di ba
(I didn’t get pregnant, did I)?”
FAD’S PHONE-a-friend hotline
is one of the few venues that
young people can anonymously
call and ask about questions
about relationships and reproductive
health. One hotline
counselor there says that young
people are likely to have many
misconceptions and few facts.
For example, she says, they will
judge reproductive health on
mere appearance. “They think if
someone is beautiful or sexy and
looks rich and clean, he or she
is healthy,” the counselor says.
“They say you can get STIs only
from nightclub workers.”
Sometimes, she says, callers
reason, “Kilala ko naman siya.
‘Di siya gano’n (I know the per-
son. He/She is not like that.).”
But it is precisely knowing
their partner in the biblical sense,
unarmed with the knowledge
of the consequences, that gets
these teens into trouble in the
first place. Some other common
misconceptions include drinking
Coke to prevent STIs and jumping
up and down steps to regulate
the menstrual cycle. There
are even those who believe one
can’t get pregnant from one’s
first sexual intercourse or if the
woman is on top.
Two of three respondents in
the YAFS study said they know
about STIs in general. Awareness
of HIV/AIDS is near universal
at 95 percent, yet only 27
percent think there is a chance
of them getting AIDS. Also,
the misconception that AIDS is
curable has worsened from 12
percent in 1994 to 28 percent
in 2002. Predictably, HIV/AIDS
and STI awareness is higher in
urban areas, among better-educated
classes, and among older
youth (20-24) vs. the younger
(15-19), and those with more
exposure to the media.
The hotline counselor says
that some teens are unfazed when
they test positive for an STI. Adolescent
males may even consider
STIs to be “warrior marks,” proof
of their sexual prowess. The first
concern of younger callers—those
16 and below who consult the
hotline because they suspect
they have been infected—is not
their own health but how they
could win back their girlfriends
or boyfriends. “They don’t see
it’s a serious problem,” notes the
counselor.
Indeed, they don’t. The
YAFS study says only 80
percent of young people used
contraception the first time they
had sex. Unsurprisingly, 74
percent of all estimated illegitimate
births are by 15-24 year
olds. There are 400,000 cases
of illegal abortions every year,
and young women account for
nearly four out of 10 cases of
abortion complications.
WHO IS supposed to teach
young people about sex?
Some experts believe schools
should. They say many parents
lack the knowledge and may
even be the ones perpetrating
misconceptions. In addition,
studies show young people do
not talk to their parents about
sex. Information from family is
often limited to ideal gender
roles and lectures about
refraining from sexual activity.
Most teens get their information
from peers, movies, television
shows, and books.
While the government has
opened its doors to talking about
adolescent health, it is unable to
do this enough. There are NGOs
that try to fill the gap but, as
FAD’s Villa says, “we have limited
reach.” The government, by comparison,
“can be everywhere.”
Unfortunately, the government
can also block information.
Without a clear national
population control program,
local health workers are obliged
to obey municipal officials who
impose personal beliefs on state
policy. With Mayor Lito Atienza’s
staunch stance against artificial
birth control, for example, the
city of Manila has become a
hostile place for NGOs. Clinics
are discouraged from promoting
family planning and safe sex and
from distributing condoms.
Dr. Carolyn Sobritchea, director
of the Center for Women’s
Studies at the University of the
Philippines, is aghast. “The right
to reproductive health is a human
right,” she says. “Governments
must provide all the information
for individuals to make the right
decisions for themselves.”
She adds, “I don’t look at it
from a moral dimension. That’s
not my place. As a teacher, I
would like to imbue them with
the knowledge and skills to
protect themselves.”
She calms down the fears
of officials who think that more
knowledge about sex could
lead to promiscuity. “It’s simply
not true,” she says. “I can cite
the statistics of Japan and other
countries where you have condoms
and pills in dormitories.”
Most health workers support
sex education in schools although
they unanimously stress
that abstinence remains the best
protection. But they reiterate
that balanced teaching is key.
Although information should
never be withheld, it should be
balanced with responsibility.
FAD, for one, has produced
“STI Confidential,” an educational
video with popular
young star Judy Ann Santos as
host. POGS launched two years
ago an STD awareness program
aimed at schools, starting
from Grade 5 onwards.
Some schools have also taken
steps toward more informative
and grounded discussions
on sex. Incoming freshmen at
the University of the Philippines
now have to take a mandatory
course on gender, sexuality,
and culture. The class tackles
issues such as STIs, unwanted
pregnancies, boyfriend battering,
and sexual abuse.
The likes of Sobritchea
remain hopeful. “Young people
today are very responsible,” the
professor says. “They just need
the proper information.”
Cheryl Chan is Chinese-Filipino
and moved to Canada in her
teens. She is currently completing
a master’s degree in journalism
at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver.
PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
I REPORT
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