Sex education increasing slightly in China

Although sex education remains a taboo issue in much of China, some approaches to the subject recently have started to change and some schools have begun to teach the subject several times annually, the Washington Post reports.

According to the Post, the most common form of sex education in the country is a 45-minute course offered once during the second year of middle school.

However, because of "embarrass[ment]," teachers often do not discuss parts of the curriculum dealing with menstruation and bodily functions, according to experts.

Surveys show that while the majority of Chinese teenagers remain more "conservative" than their counterparts in more developed countries, many high school and college students are engaging in sex and undergoing abortions at young ages, according to the Post.

A hotline for pregnant teens, which was launched last summer in Shanghai, China, has handled 11,000 calls this year -- 47% of which involved girls having their first abortion, 35% having their second and 18% having had three or more abortions, according to the Post.

Some health experts attribute the rise in teen abortion rates to advertising that describes abortions as inexpensive and painless, and although only hospitals are allowed to prescribe mifepristone -- which when taken with misoprostol can cause a medical abortion -- it can be purchased from unlicensed clinics for about $15, the Post reports.

Wu Ruomei -- lecturer, author and co-host of Capital Life Radio's "Tonight's Whisperings," a program that addresses questions about sex, contraception and pregnancy -- said that people "cannot tell exactly what sex is.

And that is exactly what the students want to know," adding, "China used to hide this subject under the table.

They considered it dirty and changing attitudes takes a long time."

According to Wu, officials in China's Ministry of Education are "more open than they were 10 years ago," but "they still can't keep up with what students need" (Fan, Washington Post, 9/11).