[Reading level: B2 – Upper Intermediate]
Vietnam’s conservative attitude toward sex and reproductive health is responsible for thousands of teenage abortions every year.
“In the whole human relation there is no slavery or torture so horrible as coerced, unwilling motherhood,” wrote women’s rights campaigner Marie Stopes in her 1918 book “Married Love.” This remains very relevant in Vietnam even today.
I met Phuong, 21, a student, when I was doing interviews with unmarried women on birth control methods last year. The quiet, reserved young woman told me she and her boyfriend had been together for almost two years and that they had had sex “a couple of times.”
“We mostly didn’t plan any of those. Sometimes we used condoms, sometimes we didn’t.”
She said she hadn’t thought she could get pregnant that easily since they “didn’t have sex that regularly.”
“If I don’t know about something, I’d just Google it,” she said when I asked her how she learned about birth control methods. Her parents never had “the talk” with her about safe sex and other related topics.
And like many other women I have interviewed, Phuong could not recall much about the reproductive health lessons she had learned in school.
Teachers simply pointed at pictures while students giggled with each other, joking about “the birds and the bees.” Phuong didn’t even know if what she learned on Google was accurate.
Around 6,000 teenagers officially have abortions in Vietnam every year. The word “official” is meant to point out there are so many more cases that go unreported and unacknowledged by authorities. The actual numbers could therefore be much, much higher.
You must have seen in the news about a schoolgirl throwing her newborn baby from a balcony, infants being abandoned in front of hospitals, pagodas and other public places, the huge number of fetuses discarded here and there, and the growing number of orphanages.
These are signs that show young people lack knowledge about birth control. I cannot speak for each and every mother out there who has abandoned her child, but there is one thing that I’m certain of: if they had actively prepared themselves with the necessary skills, knowledge and mentality before becoming a mother, so many precious little lives would not have been lost.
Phuong and many other girls her age never actively seek support or advice about birth control for fear of slut shaming. Having participated in numerous events on birth control in schools, factories and even malls, I know this fear first-hand.
Another barrier is that most young people do not pay much attention to this topic.
“I’m not married yet!” some protest.
“You look young, you must be unmarried. Why waste time on all this birth control stuff?” others say.
Many think only married couples need to know about birth control methods. But as a social worker, I know young people, especially young women, need to learn about them to take control of their relationships and of their lives, and to prevent the unfortunate event of an unwanted pregnancy.
In the Netherlands, one of the countries with the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy and abortion in the world, sex education is introduced as early as in kindergarten.
By age 11 most children could join conversations about reproductive health. Parents are open and receptive to conversing with their children about relationships and safe sex. When they finally reach puberty, an appointment with a family doctor is scheduled so that they are counseled about reproductive health.
Have you and your significant other ever talked with your children about sex or even about that passing, fluttering feeling they experience in their earliest years? Or did you ignore those feelings, condemn them and warn them to never talk about it again?
There are so many ways we parents could communicate with our children about this: through books, films, classes, or simple heart-to-heart conversations.
But the thing governments need to do right away is set up reproductive health clinics where young people will feel free to share their deepest inner thoughts, fears and concerns so that they can acquire all the information they need about birth control and the like.
Source: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/perspectives/lack-of-sex-education-taking-its-toll-in-vietnam-3998055.html?fbclid=IwAR0fO9Bytr8AElGJfsHmuVOegDdU5D9DUO0QQHJ_17x8RzNGQx17cQ5rbwQ
WORD BANK:
conservative /kənˈsɜː.və.tɪv/ [C1] (adj): bảo thủ
reproductive health /ˌriː.prəˈdʌk.tɪv helθ/ (n): sức khỏe sinh sản
abortion /əˈbɔː.ʃən/ [C1] (n): phá thai
slavery /ˈsleɪ.vər.i/ [C1] (n): chế độ nô lệ
torture /ˈtɔː.tʃər/ [C2] (n): tra tấn
horrible /ˈhɒr.ə.bəl/ (adj): khủng khiếp
coerced /kəʊˈɜːst/ (adj): bị ép buộc
unwilling /ʌnˈwɪl.ɪŋ/ [B2] (adj): bất đắc dĩ
motherhood /ˈmʌð.ə.hʊd/ (n): việc làm mẹ
birth control method /ˈbɜːθ kənˌtrəʊl ˈmeθ.əd/ (n): phương pháp tránh thai
reserved /rɪˈzɜːvd/ [B2] (adj): kín đáo
condom /ˈkɒn.dɒm/ (n): bao cao su
pregnant /ˈpreɡ.nənt/ [B1] (adj): mang thai
Google /ˈɡuː.ɡəl/ [B2] (v): tra trên Google
giggle /ˈɡɪɡ.əl/ [C2] (v): cười khúc khích
the birds and the bees (idiom): các bài kiến thức cơ bản về tình dục (cách nói với trẻ em)
official /əˈfɪʃ.əl/ [C2] (adj): chính thức
acknowledge /əkˈnɒl.ɪdʒ/ [C1] (v): thừa nhận
(the) authorities /ɔːˈθɒr.ə.tiz/ (n): cơ quan chức năng
infant /ˈɪn.fənt/ (n): trẻ sơ sinh
abandon /əˈbæn.dən/ [B2] (v): bỏ rơi
fetus /ˈfiː.təs/ (n): thai nhi
discard /dɪˈskɑːd/ (v): vứt bỏ
orphanage /ˈɔː.fən.ɪdʒ/ (n): trại trẻ mồ côi
slut /slʌt/ (n): con đĩ
first-hand /ˌfɜːstˈhænd/ (adv): [cách thể hiện rằng] chính mình [đã trải nghiệm điều gì đó]
barrier /ˈbær.i.ər/ [B2] (n): rào cản
protest /ˈprəʊ.test/ (v): phản đối.
pregnancy /ˈpreɡ.nən.si/ [C1] (n): sự mang thai
receptive to sth /rɪˈsep.tɪv/ [C2] (adj): cởi mở với điều gì
converse /ˈkɒn.vɜːs/ (v): nói chuyện, trò chuyện
puberty /ˈpjuː.bə.ti/ (n): tuổi dậy thì
appointment /əˈpɔɪnt.mənt/ (n): cuộc hẹn
counsel /ˈkaʊn.səl/ (v): tư vấn, khuyên răn, chỉ bảo
significant other /sɪɡˌnɪf.ɪ.kənt ˈʌð.ər/ (expression): nửa kia (chồng/vợ)
passing /ˈpɑː.sɪŋ/ (adj): thoáng qua
fluttering /ˈflʌt.ə.rɪŋ/ (adj): rung động
condemn /kənˈdem/ [C2] (v): lên án
clinic /ˈklɪn.ɪk/ [B1] (n): phòng khám
inner /ˈɪn.ər/ [B2] (adj): bên trong
acquire /əˈkwaɪər/ [B2] (v): hiểu, lĩnh hội
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