Sex, HIV, and young Filipinos

“Yes, nakaagi nako. (Yes, I have tried it.)” confessed “Josh”, a 14-year-old, grade 8 student to his friends when asked if he has already experienced having sex.  "Murag di ko kabalo unsaon og himo sa insakto k walay nagtudlo nako. (But I don’t think I knew how to do it safely, because nobody taught me.)"

Josh is among many young Filipinos who started having sex at an early age. When young Filipinos aged 15-19 were asked about their first sexual experience, only 46 per cent answered that they had wanted to have sex at the time; 29 per cent said that they had not planned on having sex but had engaged in it anyway; and 22% did not want to have sex at all but had gone along with it.

Lack of knowledge leading to highest incidence of HIV in ASEAN

Among the six major economies in the ASEAN region, the Philippines has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies -- the only country where the rate is increasing. Likewise, according to recent reports the Philippines has the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the world, increasing by 240 per cent increase in the last 10 years. Data from the Department of Health (DoH) show that in July 2019, 31 per cent of the newly-diagnosed HIV-positive Filipinos were 15-24 years old. 

Josh shared, “I don’t know much about HIV and AIDS.” His friend, “CJ,” also 14, added, “We don’t learn about HIV and AIDS in school, and we don’t talk about it with our families.”

According to Maroz Ramos of GALANG, a feminist organization, "Filipino adolescents lack the appropriate knowledge and access to sexual and reproductive health services. The same lack of knowledge and access render young lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queers and intersex (LGBTQI) people even more vulnerable. If they cannot talk to their families, they will not always make well-informed decisions about their actions and behaviors, which could lead to various unfavorable outcomes."

Education as the most powerful protection

With the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the world, the Philippines needs new approaches to provide information to young people so that they can have adequate life skills to make appropriate decisions related to their sexual and reproductive health. 

Throughout December 2019, which has been designated as AIDS Awareness Month in the Philippines starting with the observance of World AIDS Day (1 December), the government and civil society partners are intensifying advocacy, as well as various HIV prevention activities, activities leading up to the end of the year.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, has been supporting the Department of Education (DepEd) in rolling out Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in schools, as an age-appropriate, curriculum-based process of teaching the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. CSE will be integrated into the Kinder to Grade 12 curriculum and discussed in various school subjects. 

Hope in a “Beshie” Bag

UNFPA is also supporting the community-based sexuality education initiatives among young people in low-resource communities in Cebu through the “BESHIE Bag.” The term “beshie” can be loosely translated to “a good friend.” The BESHIE Bag uses a light portable backpack that transforms into the learning materials when unpacked. The education sessions revolving around the learning materials bring a novel and interactive approach to reproductive health and life skills discussion.

Equipping young people with the correct set of knowledge and adequate life skills through CSE and BESHIE Bag education sessions will enable young people to take a pivotal role in reversing the HIV epidemic in the Philippines.

CJ and Josh recently participated in a BESHIE Bag session. “It was fun, and we learned a lot about HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and condoms,” said CJ. 

Josh has then shared the learnings with friends and schoolmates. Josh cited an important takeaway for young people from participating in the UNFPA-supported education sessions: “We don’t have special rights.  What we have are equal rights.”