Cambodian couples eye Valentine's sex

PHNOM PENH - More young couples in Cambodia are planning to have sex on Valentine's Day this year compared to five years ago, the results of a survey released on Monday show.

• Published: 10/02/2014
• Writer: Kyodo News

The survey was conducted last month on 715 young people aged 15 to 24 in the capital Phnom Penh.

Tong Soprach, a public health consultant who graduated with a master's degree in public health and who conducted the survey, said the results of the 2014 survey also showed that, compared to 2009, young people were less interested in the upcoming Valentine's Day as a "special day." While 81% said so in 2009, only 56% did so this year.

The research showed that there is not much change from the previous survey in terms of planned dating activities of young couple on Valentine's Day, which will fall on Feb 14.

However, the results reveal that while the number of young people not in a relationship who think they will be able to have sex on Valentine's Day decreased from 12.4% in 2009 to 11.3% this year, the number of young people in a relationship planning to have sex rose from 14.3% in 2009 to 15.8% in 2014.

According to the researcher, the purpose of the study is to seek the answer to the question: "What plans do wealthier young people in Phnom Penh have for sexual activity on the upcoming Valentine's Day?"

The research is a follow-up to a 2009 quantitative study, using a cross-sectional survey design with cluster sampling to survey 715 wealthier young people aged 15-24 in Phnom Penh.

Based on the survey results, Tong Soprach suggested that interventions need to be focused more on sexual rights and condom use education before Valentine's Day due to the fact that there will be a decrease in expected condom use, and the continued high proportion of men expecting non-consensual sex.

On Monday, Chhim Sarath, country programme manager of the Aids HealthCare Foundation, said his organisation in cooperation with the Health Ministry is planning to distribute free of charge 100,000 condoms during Valentine's Day in Phnom Penh, as a way to help curb any risk of the spread of HIV/Aids.

According to Tong Soprach, Valentine's Day was not popular at all in Cambodia until 1993, when Cambodia held the first UN-sponsored general elections.