In highlighting youth sexual practices, the House of Representatives addresses the health risks of having children

JAKARTA – The Ninth Committee of the House of Representatives provided information on the widespread phenomenon of sexual activity by young people aged 15-19 in Indonesia. The House Committee, which is responsible for health issues, also asked the government to continue to promote education and socialization about the dangers of sex at a very young age for the health of young children.

“This is a very worrying situation, it seems that there are still many first marriages and premarital sex by young people,” said a member of the 9th Committee of the House of Representatives, Arzeti Belbina, Tuesday , August 13.

He continued: “There must be continuous efforts to reduce the practice of early marriage and premarital sex because it has an impact on the reproductive health of young people, especially women.”

JAKARTA – The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) revealed that the trend of early marriages is decreasing, but the trend of sexual relations among young people is increasing. The trend of early marriage in Indonesia can be seen as it decreases to 40 young women out of every 1,000, which is currently compared to only 26 girls out of every 1,000 young women in Indonesia. get married soon.

Despite the decline, the trend of early marriage is still alarming. Considering that if 26 women were pregnant, that means that there is a total of 2,600 teenage girls who are pregnant (100,000). Compared to 1 million people, this means that there are 26,000 new pregnant women.

Arzetti also said that the rate of the practice of first marriage should be reduced because women between the ages of 15 and 19 are at risk of diseases and consequences if they have sex at a young age.

“So sexual health education is important to do,” Arzetti said.

“The 9th House Committee urges the government and the public to continue to improve reproductive and sexual health education,” the Dapil East Java I lawmaker continued.

Arziti speculated that reproductive health education could be provided in formal education settings. Of course, the materials are modified according to the age and level of education of the students.

“If necessary, reproductive education will be better developed in formal educational settings such as schools so that our children can understand the dangers of childhood sex,” Arzetti suggested.

Matrimony itself can put pregnant women at risk, such as bleeding disorders, preterm birth, and low birth weight (LBW), and can increase maternal mortality and morbidity. babies. Arziti stressed the need for the friendship of the effect of the first marriage to be more active.

The risks that adolescent girls who enter marriage have to accept are very high, not to mention the psychological, social and economic conditions that can also affect the stability of the family.

Arzetti also highlighted the growing trend of sexual relations among young people. Recent data from BKKBN shows that more than 50% of teenage girls have sex between the ages of 15 and 19. For men, the number is higher, over 70 %.

It is better not to have sex before marriage In addition to crime and religion, the effect on health is also very important, especially for women.

A member of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said that Indonesia is now entering a new challenge that must be overcome immediately by providing sex education and improving the role of parents and schools for teenage children. Arziti stressed the need to continue campaigns against premarital sex.

“Indonesia is now facing new challenges to overcome, including increased reproductive health risks, unsafe sexual behavior, and lack of sex education,” he said.

“Therefore, it is necessary to take comprehensive and joint preventive measures to deal with and reduce the negative consequences of this event,” Arziti added.

Arzetti then hinted at the controversial laws on providing contraception to school children and teenagers. This law is one of the directives from Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024 on Health.

“The course of sex education must be fully and clearly defined so that there are no misconceptions accepted by the public,” he said.

“Now it is necessary to evaluate it in the way the public responds, to see if the policy works well,” concluded Arzetti.

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