Underage sex law should be scrapped, says psychiatrist
An outspoken psychiatrist has fuelled a debate by claiming the law on underage sex should be scrapped.
Ng Man-lun, Professor of Psychiatry at Hong Kong University, said the law banning sex under the age of 16 was outdated.
'The law is in fact a retreat,' said Professor Ng, known as 'Dr Sex' because of his openness on the subject.
He said 200 years ago, in China and Europe, many people were married by the time they were 12.
'Romeo and Juliet were only 12 or 13 years old,' Professor Ng said.
He said the law was unnecessary. 'It makes youngsters tempted. For those who opt not to do it due to the law but have sexual needs, their emotions might be affected and might be expressed in violent ways.' Professor Ng was commenting on the fact that the number of cases of underage sex reported to police had been decreasing.
Social workers say more teenagers are experiencing sex before the legal age despite the number of reported underage incidents going down.
The number slid from 358 in 1997 to 294 in 1998, and 268 from January to November last year.
A veteran social worker who monitors the Government's only funded youth hotline agreed underage sex was common phenomenon but said the law should be kept.
Anita Lam Siu-fung, supervisor of Youthline, said it was rare to have a 12-year-old girl contacting the hotline when it was established in 1993.
'But now, we get one or two of this kind of call a month,' she said.
Ms Lam said the attitude of youngsters towards sex had changed.
'In the past, they contacted us to talk about their guilt feelings - the feeling that they have done something wrong.
'But now it is only the fear of having babies.' She added that even if family members discovered underage sex cases and reported them to police, it would be difficult to take any follow-up action.
'Most of the girls would not say who their partners are,' she said.
Ms Lam said the law acted as a protection. 'Although physically able, they are not psychologically ready.'
