More and more teenage boys are paying prostitutes in exchange for sex. Doctors are concerned that this could lead to the teenagers' higher chances of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases and infecting other people.
In a study conducted between 2009 and 2014, around 300 heterosexual boys aged between 16 and 19 were found to have visited a government specialist clinic that treats sexually transmitted infections, the Straits Times reported. Only 15 percent of boys surveyed who went to the Department of Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Clinic between 2006 and 2009 said they had sex with prostitutes.
Public Health Concern
Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian, of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said the study's findings cannot generalize the vast population of sexually active teens. Lian, however, said teenage boys paying for sex are becoming increasingly common.
Researchers consider this trend among teenage boys a public health concern given that sex workers carry infections. According to the Straits Times, 30 percent of the boys surveyed in the study between 2009 and 2014 said they didn't use a condom while engaging in sexual activities with prostitutes.
Infecting Others
Doctors are concerned that teenage boys could transmit sexual infection to their girlfriends or to other sexual partners. Lian said the teenage boys had a median of 4.5 sexual partners, including their girlfriends, while they were being polled for the study.
"Many of those infected with an STI show no symptoms and they could have sex with others without knowing they are infected," she said, as quoted by the Straits Times. The median age of boys who have paid for sex was only 16, with 38 percent of their first sexual experience with a prostitute.
Main Factors
Two main factors have been identified by doctors and social workers as to why teenage boys prefer prostitutes. One of these factors is the ease of access to pornography on the internet.
There are plenty of websites advertising sexual services on the internet. Dr Lin Kai Wei of Nuffield Medical Siglap clinic said teenage boys visit online sites because "they find it less daunting than going to the red light districts where others can see what they are up to," the news outlet wrote.
"There are all these websites where there are pictures of the girls and their vital statistics. So the boys are tempted," Wei said, as reported by the Straits Times.
In response to the study, Singapore Children's Society chief executive Alfred Tan said that parents should start talking about concerns regarding sexuality with children. This is to teach them right from wrong and should be done when they are as young as possible, per Straits Times.
