Despite being increasingly open-minded about sex, Hong Kong
women are still not fully informed about contraception, according
to the results of a survey by the University of Hong Kong
(HKU).
Of the 502 single women aged between 18 and 40 surveyed, about
half said it was acceptable to start having sex at the age of 18,
while only 3 percent said they thought they would wait for marriage
before having sex.
More than half said they expected to have an eventful sex life.
Fifty-four percent said they believed a woman could have multiple
sex partners throughout her life, while 28 percent held onto the
traditional belief that a woman should have only one.
With better education, job prospects and generally higher
expectations of life, the majority of these women (73 percent)
placed heavy emphasis on sexual satisfaction, said Connie Pang,
program manager for the public opinion program at HKU.
"They expect to have quality sex as they take the time from
their busy schedule to do it," said Pang. "Most of them (60
percent) embrace the idea of having sex more than once a week,
which shows their openness about the subject."
However, this increasing openness to sex is not always
accompanied by informed choices about protection. Asked about their
preferred methods of contraception, 25 percent said they used
external ejaculation, 15 percent said they planned their
intercourse to coincide with the period and 3 percent said they
used no contraception at all.
They also displayed little knowledge of the pros and cons of
different contraception methods. Thirty percent did not know that
condoms could prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), and 58 percent were unaware of any of the benefits
of oral contraceptives other than birth control pills.
Many of the women shy away from certain contraception methods
because of pressure from their partners or misconception of the
methods, said obstetric-gynecologic specialist Dominic Li. "For
example, some still believed oral contraceptives can lead to weight
increase".
(China Daily August 24, 2007)