Family Planning in Asia and the Pacific - International Council on ...

Figure3.12). The proportion of TFR attributed to <strong>the</strong> age group15-19 years was 3.37 per cent <strong>in</strong> 2002 74 <strong>and</strong> was less than4-5 per cent <strong>in</strong> 2007 75 . Accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> 2007 FRHS only1.9 per cent of females had <strong>the</strong>ir first birth before age 15,<strong>and</strong> slightly over 25 per cent had <strong>the</strong>ir first birth before age20. However, <strong>the</strong>re are regional differentials, with Rakh<strong>in</strong>eState hav<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> lowest age at first birth.Usually adolescents do not use contraception <strong>and</strong> maybe prone to unsafe abortion <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> case of unwantedpregnancy. With regard to pre-marital sex, 16 per cent ofyouth approved it for boys while only 7 per cent of youthapproved of it for girls 76 . Young people perceived thatsocioculturally Myanmar youth should not be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong>pre-marital sex; however, <strong>the</strong> majority expressed <strong>the</strong> viewthat <strong>the</strong>re are <strong>in</strong>creased numbers of young people engaged<strong>in</strong> pre-marital sex 77 .Accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> 2007 FRHS, 11.4 per cent of pregnancies<strong>in</strong> women aged 15-19 ended <strong>in</strong> abortion. The 2004<strong>Family</strong> <strong>and</strong> Youth Survey conducted by <strong>the</strong> Departmentof Population, M<strong>in</strong>istry of Immigration <strong>and</strong> Population,<strong>and</strong> UNFPA 78 reported that 78 per cent of <strong>the</strong> youth<strong>in</strong>terviewed <strong>in</strong>dicated that <strong>the</strong> home of tra<strong>in</strong>ed birthassistants was <strong>the</strong> place where abortions could be done;home (40%) <strong>and</strong> private cl<strong>in</strong>ic (36%) were o<strong>the</strong>r oftencitedplaces. In addition, young people make up a segmentof <strong>the</strong> population that is particularly vulnerable to HIV<strong>in</strong>fection ow<strong>in</strong>g to several specific factors, such as lack ofknowledge about HIV/AIDS, lack of education <strong>and</strong> lifeskills, poor access to health services <strong>and</strong> commodities,early sexual debut, sexual coercion, sexual violence,traffick<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> grow<strong>in</strong>g up without parents or o<strong>the</strong>r formsof protection from exploitation <strong>and</strong> abuse. As <strong>the</strong>y are<strong>in</strong>fluenced by socio-economic factors, contemporary socialnorms <strong>and</strong> lifestyles, young adults tend to acquire riskysexual behaviours.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Behavioural Sent<strong>in</strong>el Surveillance, 2008, forout-of-school youth 79 per cent have complete <strong>and</strong> accurateknowledge of HIV/AIDS <strong>and</strong> about half of <strong>the</strong>m did notuse condoms dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir last sexual encounter with causalpartners, although 90 per cent of <strong>the</strong>m used condoms <strong>the</strong>last time <strong>the</strong>y had sex with sex workers. Anecdotal evidencesuggests that an <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> number of men who have sexwith men (MSM) is associated with new registrations atPSI youth drop-<strong>in</strong> centres of young men below 19 years ofage 80 . While adolescents do have a high level of awarenessabout STIs/HIV (75% for STIs <strong>and</strong> 91% for reproductivetract <strong>in</strong>fections) 81 , detailed knowledge on RH <strong>and</strong> STIsis limited. The school dropout rate is highest at grade 11(55.4%). The percentage of youth with a high school orhigher level of education is almost 60 per cent for bothsexes <strong>in</strong> urban areas, whereas it is less than 25 per cent<strong>in</strong> rural areas. Employment opportunities for out-ofschoolyouth are very limited; an estimated 90 per cent areunemployed.Traffick<strong>in</strong>g is <strong>the</strong> crim<strong>in</strong>al <strong>and</strong> illegal trad<strong>in</strong>g of humanbe<strong>in</strong>gs for <strong>the</strong> purpose of exploit<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir labour. Youngpeople are more likely to be <strong>the</strong> victims of traffick<strong>in</strong>g thanadults. While <strong>the</strong>re are no national-level data on traffick<strong>in</strong>g,<strong>the</strong> 2004 <strong>Family</strong> <strong>and</strong> Youth Survey, 2004, reported that 87per cent of youth had ever heard about <strong>the</strong> term traffick<strong>in</strong>g<strong>and</strong>, of <strong>the</strong>m, 71 per cent suggested that <strong>the</strong> 15-19 agegroup was <strong>the</strong> most likely target for traffick<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> ano<strong>the</strong>r20 per cent suggested that <strong>the</strong> age group 20-24 was. Girlsare especially vulnerable <strong>and</strong> are likely to be <strong>in</strong>fluenced byfalse job offers, promises of marriage <strong>and</strong> a better life.Figure9Trend <strong>in</strong> age-specific fertility rate per 1,000 among females aged 15-19 years, (1971-2001)504040ASFR3020102922.701971 1996 2001yearSource: For <strong>the</strong> years 1971 <strong>and</strong> 1996, World Fertility Report 2003 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.04.XIII.10); for 2001:Myanmar Fertility <strong>and</strong> Reproductive Health Survey 2001, M<strong>in</strong>istry of Immigration <strong>and</strong> Population, Yangon, 2003.277