Press Releases 1998
Sex hotline popular among youth
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More than 450 000 calls have been received by Dr Sex Hotline (2337 2121) service since it was launched two years ago by the Hong Kong Sex Education Association (HKSEA) and the Department of Health (DH).
Of these, 50 per cent of the callers were aged between 11 - 20 and 40 per cent of the callers were female.
Sponsored by the AIDS Trust Fund and the Health Care & Promotion Fund Committee, the 24-hour telephone hotline features an interactive voice response system and provides comprehensive information on sex for youth and other target groups in the territory.
The hotline service aims to dispel misconceptions and help cultivate positive ideas about sex-related issues, including sexual behaviours/attitudes, sexual inclination, sexual offence, contraception, unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in youth.
Officially launched in July 1996, the mean (average) duration of each call was four to five minutes.
According to a review of Dr Sex Hotline announced today (Friday), the most frequently used messages were those under "Sex : physiological, psychological and behavioural problems", accounting for 46.7 per cent of the total number of calls. Of these, more than one-third listened to "Sex Acts and Behaviours" messages.
The second most commonly used messages were under 'Myths about Sex" (23.5 per cent). A usage rise of the message "Sexually Transmitted Diseases" was noted.
Drawing from the findings of the usage of Dr Sex Hotline in the past two years, the HKSEA and the DH had the following conclusions :-
- hotline is an accessible and user-friendly method of delivering sex education for targeted groups;
- users of Dr Sex Hotline were interested in a wide variety of sex-related issues, as included in the Hotline;
- there is a big demand for information and education on sex, especially for the youth; and
- AIDS education can be effectively integrated into the broader scope of sex education.
In an effort to further improve the service accessibility of sex education in schools, tertiary institutions and youth centres, a Dr Sex Hotline flyer targeted at youths has been produced recently. This serves as an aid for teachers and youth workers to disseminate information on Sex and AIDS to youths.
Dr Sex Hotline (2337 2121) provides free of charge pre-recorded messages in Cantonese, Putonghua and English to callers. Fax copies of the messages are also available.
End/Friday, August 14, 1998