Albawaba.com
ANKARA
A survey of 350 students at Konya's Cumhuriyet University showed that most of them are ignorant about sex, the Anatolian news agency reported.
More than 54 percent of the students have insufficient knowledge of sex, sexuality and related issues, the agency said.
Of that figure, 34 percent were male and 66 percent were female. Only 5 percent of students were taught about sex by their parents; 43 percent learned from their friends, 27 percent from films with sexual content and 23 percent learned from books, the study showed.
The proportion of students who had been completely misinformed about sexuality and sexual matters was very high, with 46 percent rofessing that they actually didn't know the correct information.
Only 30 percent of students were able to name a sexually transmitted diseases. Only 26 percent were able to answer "AIDS," and 7 percent gave answers such as cancer, tuberculosis and asthma.
When asked to name three ways to prevent pregnancy and/or infection by sexually transmitted diseases, 35 percent said they did not know.
Some 7 percent wrote that men and women should not go near each other as well as other incorrect answers such as: not sharing the same personal items, keeping relations within the family, not going to brothels, anal sex, the so-called "withdrawal" method and abortion, although almost all of that group wrote "condoms" correctly.
Some 30 percent stated that religious belief should play as large a role in shaping one's sex life as it does in all other areas of life. Only 7 percent of the 52 percent who said that sex should no longer be taboo said they believed in unlimited sexual freedom, but 36 percent disapproved of sex before marriage.
Some 79 percent of those male students who said mild flirting was both acceptable and natural wanted their future bride to be a virgin. Some 70 percent said of all students they disapproved of living together before marriage.
Some 19 percent said that for a girl to have sexual relations before marriage was acceptable, whereas 65 percent strongly disapproved. While 58 percent of males said their future bride's virginity was important to them,43 percent of them said that it was okay for men to have sex before marriage.
Some 75 percent of males and 60 percent of females said that virginity was important. As to how important, 50 percent of male students when asked how they would react if they found out their bride was not a virgin said they would leave her immediately, throw her out into the street, send her back to her family, or even kill her.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
