Pre-marital sex okay by most students

More than four out of five secondary school pupils are prepared to indulge in pre-marital sex, while nearly one in four started dating at primary school, a survey has found.

Of 534 students, from forms four to seven and aged 14 to 18, 6.2 per cent said they had already had sex.

Forty-eight per cent agreed to pre-marital sex in principle provided they were in love, while another 35 per cent supported the idea of casual sex.

The student survey of 16 secondary schools was conducted by the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association of Hong Kong in November and December.

The association's research officer, Chan Yuen-wah, said the results showed teenagers accepted pre-marital sex under different circumstances.

Forty per cent of respondents said they had experience in dating and 56 per cent had relationships in junior forms. Twenty-three per cent said they started dating when they were primary school pupils.