Abstract
BackgroundIn South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16 years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent. This cross-sectional study investigated the extent to which young adolescents engage in various sexual behaviours and the associations between dating status and sexual behaviours.MethodGrade 8 adolescents (N = 474, ages 12–15 years, mean = 14.14 years) recruited from Cape Town schools completed surveys providing information about their sociodemographic backgrounds, dating experience, sexual behaviour, and substance use.ResultsLower hierarchy sexual behaviours, such as kissing (71.4% of girls; 88.4% of boys), were more common than oral (3.9% of girls; 13.8% of boys), vaginal (9.3% of girls; 30.0% of boys), or anal (1.4% of girls; 10.5% of boys) sex. Currently dating girls and boys were more likely to engage in sexual behaviours including several risk behaviours in comparison to their currently non-dating counterparts. These risk behaviours included penetrative sex (21.1% of dating vs. 4.5% of non-dating girls; 49.4% of dating vs. 20.2% of non-dating boys), sex with co-occurring substance use (22.2% of dating vs. 0 non-dating girls; 32.1% of dating vs. 40% of non-dating boys), and no contraceptive use (26.1% of sexually experienced girls; 44.4% of sexually experienced boys). Among girls, there were significant associations between ever having penetrative sex and SES (OR = 2.592, p = 0.017) and never dating (OR = 0.330, p = 0.016). Among boys, there were significant associations between ever having penetrative sex and never dating (OR = 0.162, p = 0.008). Although the currently dating group of young adolescents appear to be a precocious group in terms of risk behaviour relative to the currently non-dating group, teenagers in both groups had experience in the full range of sexual behaviours.ConclusionsMany young adolescents are engaging in a variety of sexual behaviours ranging from kissing and touching to intercourse. Of particular concern are those engaging in risky sexual behaviour. These findings indicate that adolescents need to be prepared for sexual negotiation and decision-making from an early age through comprehensive and accessible education and health services; sections of current legislation may be a barrier to adopting such policies and practices.
Highlights
In South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16 years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent
The aims of this paper are to describe (a) the kinds of sexual activity young, urban South African adolescents are engaging in, including risky sexual behaviours; (b) the connections between dating and sexual activity in this age group; and (c) the factors associated with early penetrative sex
Our findings show that, regardless of legislation, young teenagers are exploring a variety of sexual behaviours, which, to a certain extent, is developmentally normative [3,5,45]
Summary
In South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16 years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent. In the case of similar age adolescents, both partners are prosecutable under this law whereas in an age discordant couple, where one partner is two or more years older than the other, a statutory offense applies only charging the older partner with a crime. Such laws are incongruent with common sexual practice among South African adolescents [1,2]. Such an approach is in contravention of provisions in other South African legislation [7], but it may compromise comprehensive education and reproductive health services that promote and support a spectrum of healthy sexual decisionmaking
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