Church teaching and the views of youth on sexual practices : a study amongst Anglican youth of the Cape Town diocese aged 12-19

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research aims to establish if church-going young people adhere to the principleof 'no sex before marriage', or if there are competing 'voices' and pressures that youngpeople succumb to. Are they practising risky sexual behaviour, with multiple partners,using no protection or experiencing sexual violence?We conducted a survey in order to understand the gravity of the challenge, and toidentify ways in which the Anglican Church might become more effective in dealing withissues of sexuality among young people. The field research was undertaken betweenOctober 2004 and January 2005 and involved a detailed questionnaire survey (with1,306 responses analysed), and three different focus group discussions. Respondentswere between 12 and 19 years of age, both male and female, and demographicallyrepresentative of the Anglican Church of Cape Town Diocese. It is hoped that theresults of this survey will be informative for church leaders and those involved inministry with young people.Our research reveals that church-going young people are not excluded from the risksfaced by others in society. Of the respondents 30.5% have had sex (40% Male and21% Female; Black 44%, White 26% and Coloured 30%). This is irrespective ofgeographical location (32% Rural and 30% Urban). Young people are practisingvaginal, oral and anal sex or any combination. During their first sexual experience, only35% used contraceptives. Ninety percent of their first partners are friends orschoolmates and when it came to venue, 75% had sex at home or at their partner'splace. Casual sex was common and 33% of those who have had sex have been withfour or more sexual partners. Sexual violence also occurred as 6% of the respondentswere forced to have sex (Black 7.1%, White 6.5% and Coloured 5.4%). Of this coercedgroup, 12% have themselves demanded sex from somebody else.There is thus a gap between the Church's traditional teaching of 'no sex beforemarriage' and the realities of the way in which our young people live. Hence, weshould no longer hide our heads in the sand and pretend that our young people are notat risk. This research has certainly identified several areas of concern. Nonetheless, ithas also revealed encouraging information, as young people are interested in changingthe situation. In order to increase its effectiveness in addressing the sexuality of young people, theAnglican Church should be prepared to act decisively. The approach recommendedfrom this study should be multifaceted, given the increasingly complex landscape inwhich young people live. There is an urgent need to support young people in buildinghealthy relationships. Parental workshops are an important intervention in order toenable parents to communicate with their children about sexuality, using an ageappropriateapproach. Peer education should be adopted: that is training key opinionleaders in each church so that they can provide positive peer pressure. In addition, thechurch should take a stand against sexual messages seen in the media; silence impliesconsent. The church must clearly communicate its opposition to these unhealthysexual messages to society at large.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University