Despite Shifting Attitudes Toward Sex, Many Chinese Remain Uneducated on Contraception, Columnist Writes

November 6, 2009 — "After three decades of the one-child policy, you'd expect people [in China] to know how to have sex without getting pregnant," Slate columnist Michelle Tsai writes, adding, "And you'd be wrong." According to the government-run China Daily newspaper, a survey conducted by a Shanghai hospital found that less than 30% of callers to a pregnancy hotline knew how to prevent pregnancy. Chinese health officials report that 13 million abortions are performed at registered medical institutions annually, which does not account for procedures performed at unregistered clinics and an estimated 10 million medical abortion pills sold annually, Tsai says.

Even though the "taboo against premarital sex has largely faded among Chinese college students," and "Chinese culture has become increasingly liberal, traditional values endure," Tsai says. She adds, "As a result, there's a gap between how open people are about sex and how informed they are." Many Chinese -- particularly those in less developed areas -- use unreliable techniques such as the rhythm method or withdrawal. However, some students at elite colleges have access to sex education workshops, Tsai reports.

The ignorance about contraception in China stems largely from a culture in which "parents and teachers don't talk to kids about sex," and government censors keep sex off of movie and computer screens, she writes. The country introduced sex education in schools in 1988 and followed up with an HIV/AIDS curriculum in 2003. However, there are no standards on what should be taught, and instructors are often too embarrassed to seriously discuss the subject matter, according to Tsai. Students typically learn about reproductive anatomy and that "they're not supposed to have sex, and that if they do, they must take precautions," Tsai writes. She adds, "And that's that -- no guidance about which precautions." Lily Liu, head of China operations for Marie Stopes International, said, "There's nothing from the schools about relationships. Nothing about pregnancy. No condoms, of course." Tsai writes that Liu and other advocates "are trying to change the situation. But as with many things in China, new ideas battle traditional values" (Tsai, Slate, 11/4).