Position paper onn premarital sex

1. DELOSTRICO, JUNA PHINKY L.
MAGC
COUNSELING 4001
POSITION PAPER ON PRE-MARITAL SEX
For most people, morality is a factor they consider before they make a decision and do something. We
tend to base most of our behaviors and values to the moral standards that we (ourselves) and the society have
set. We are often caught up in a dilemma of questioning some behaviors as whether morally right or wrong.
One of which is the issue of Pre-marital sex which has long been a wide-reaching unresolved issue for quite
some time even up until now. In fact, it became one of the most discussed and debated topics among people.
Pre-marital sex is primarily the sexual activity by two individual before the sacrament of marriage. The main
matter is whether Pre-marital sex is morally right or wrong.
Pre-marital sex is already not a new issue for the Philippines. As a predominantly Christian country,
most Filipino only considers the heterosexual intercourse within a marriage as a morally and legally
acceptable thus; the Philippine society norms consider pre-marital sex as immoral. Despite this, there is a
high prevalence of Filipinos engaged in it. In fact, in a study conducted by the University of the
Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, (DRDF)
Inc. on 2014 cited by Elizabeth Ansiongco – 32% among the young Filipinos between the ages of 15 to
24 engaged in sex before marriage wherein 74.2% of the respondents were Catholic, 18.4% were Christians,
and 7.3% were Muslim. This shows a significant increase from 17.8% t in 1994 and 23.2% in 2002. What’s
more alarming is that 78% of young people’s first sexual encounter was unprotected exposing themselves to
possible sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. There is no wonder why teenage
pregnancies and transmitted diseases, specifically HIV/.AIDS are increasing in the Filipino community.
As believed to be intervention of the rising issues of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases, the Philippine government approved the passage of the RH Bill. There were also some NGOs giving
assistance to the affected Filipinos. And also, working with government agencies, NGOs, and private sector,
there is the UNICEF which aims to prevent HIV infection among young people (aged 10-24 years); prevent
parent-to-child transmission of HIV; provide care for children and parents living with HIV; and, ensure
protection, care and support for orphans and for children in families made vulnerable by HIV. Regardless of
these presented “solutions”, no one can deny that despite people’s assertion that young people should not be
educated on sexuality matters because they are, well, young and supposed to be innocent, more and more of
them are having premarital sex anyway. Because of this generation's acceptance on liberalization, the
modernistic view on premarital sex is now being embraced - the importance of virginity had somehow
transitioned from being sacred to being less prevalent and even up to the point of considering sex as ‘re-
creation’ instead of ‘recreation’. After all, the messages we receive from most TV shows, movies and social
Medias these days tell us "everyone is doing it." But because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean it is right
especially if the people engaged in such activity have irresponsibly done it. We all have to take into
consideration the results of such action not only to our health but also to our own integrity – our standpoint to
our values and principle, to our own rectitude and to our own confidence in our selves.