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Students seek help at sex education consulting centers

Many of the students who sought help from sex education consulting stations at pharmacies were concerned about contraception and pregnancy, a survey released by the Bureau of Health Promotion yesterday found.

Compared with 30 percent of students who visited the pharmacies simply for consultation, 19.3 percent intended to buy contraceptive products, 17.3 percent wanted to buy pregnancy test kits and 2.6 percent asked for abortion pills, the survey found.

The survey was conducted by the Union of Pharmacist Associations among 1,349 students aged 24 and younger who visited the consulting stations at 150 drug stores nationwide between March and June.

The issues most commonly raised by the students included acne treatment, height, menstruation, ejaculation and weight control.

Of the 261 students who visited the pharmacists to buy contraceptive products, two were younger than 12 years, 24 were aged 12 to 15, 73 were aged 15 to 18 and 162 were between 18 and 24, the survey results showed.

Of the 233 students who wanted to buy pregnancy test kits, three were under 12, 11 were aged 12 to 15, 74 were aged 15 to 18 and 145 were aged 18 to 24.

Lin Chen-shun (林振順), a leading member of the union, urged parents to pay closer attention to their children and offer them assistance, noting that many of the youngsters who sought information or help obviously lacked knowledge about sex but said they would not ask their parents for information.

For example, he said, a fourth- grade girl sought help because she was afraid of becoming pregnant after having sex with her boyfriend.

There was also a junior high school girl who was threatened and abused by her boyfriend because she wanted to break up with him, Lin said, adding that the girl sought shelter at a pharmacy.

Both cases were resolved after the pharmacists helped the girls talk to their parents, Lin said.
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