7 News Belize

Call It KAP
posted (September 16, 2015)

There is a new report out on the sexual behaviors of young people in Belize, and it seeks to be the most thorough one to date. It's called KAP, or Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices in Sexual Behavior and HIV in Belize.

The survey was conducted one year ago in September of 2014, and looks at the sexual practices of that section of the population between 15 and 24 years old.

Today, 7News attended the launch of this report by the National Aids Commission, and we spoke with the statistician who helped to conduct the survey for this study. Here's what she had to say about the report and it's findings:

Here are few findings which stand out. According to this survey, 71% of Creoles and 69.4% of Garifuna between 15 and 24 are reporting that they've already had sex. Those are the highest numbers of the ethnic groups. Mestizos are third with 60.3% and the other ethnic groups not placed in the other categories have also had sex. The Maya have the lowest occurrence youths having sex at that age, that is, 44.8%. The total from this survey says that 61% of persons aged 15 to 24 in this country have already had sex.

Another portion of the survey is the apparent connection between underage sex and the levels of education – the rend shows that those with less education first have sex at an earlier age.

Another part of the study says that the age that youths are starting to have sex for the first time is just after they turn 15 or shortly before they turn 17. Boys are having sex just after turning 16, while girls are having sex just before they turn 17. By districts, Stann Creek and Toledo have the youngest persons having sex for the first time with the average age being 16.15 and 16.20 years respectively. In the Belize District, most youths are becoming sexually active at 16.39, while in Cayo, it goes up to 16.45 years. Youths who have early sexual encounters in Corozal average at around the age of 16.65, while in Orange Walk, that age is 16.66.

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