Jakarta. There are very serious consequences that could result from Indonesian society’s continued reluctance to acknowledge that children need to learn about sex early on at home and in schools, experts warned on Friday.
For instance, Oldri Shearli Mukuan, an activist from the HIV-Positive Indonesian Women’s Association, said that when she had her first period, her mother warned her to be careful but did not explain how or why.
“By the time I was 16, I was a heroin addict and the victim of frequent sexual abuse by my boyfriend, who was also an addict,” she said at an Atma Jaya Catholic University seminar about sexual education for teenagers.
If she had been armed with proper information about sex and drugs and their consequences, she said, she probably would have made better choices.
The...