Social Issue

Juvenile compensated dating and ways to tackle it

It has recently arouse to the public’s attention that the issue of juvenile Enjo kōsai, in English means juvenile compensated dating, has been worsening in Hong Kong. According to the survey reports conducted by The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK) in 2011 and the Hong Kong Association of Sexuality Educators, Researchers and Therapists (HKASERT) in 2009, 23% of school girls accepted compensated dating behavior with almost 24% among them accepted compensated dating with sexual transection; and nearly 5% of school girls had engaged in this immoral activity. School girls involving compensated dating may easily fall victim to both physical harm as well as mental illness. In order to alleviate this worrisome situation, people might propose prohibiting this immoral activity by legislation. However, it is not an entirely effective way to put an end on this issue. Rather, we have to combat with its root causes, girls involved in compensated dating since they have inadequate sexual knowledge, they are being materialist and they are lack of care and love. These problems can be tackled by arranging a compulsory sex education class, create a “Values of Life” topic in Liberal Studies and increase the number of school social workers.

First, school girls involved in compensated dating because they have inadequate sexual knowledge. FPAHK’s Youth Sexuality Study (2011) revealed 67% and 19% girl respondents believe that external ejaculation is an effective contraception method and the number of sexual partners is not related to the chance of infecting sexually transmitted diseases respectively. School girls were lack of knowledge about the seriousness and the adverse effects of inappropriate sexual relationships. Both physical harm and emotional problem will inevitably result. They might get pregnant accidentally and they might suffer in venereal diseases, like AIDS and HIV, which are incurable. Besides, they might lose faith in relationship and having impaired feeling of self-esteem. Consequently, they might suffer in mental illness like depression, or even suicidal thought. Their ignorance of sex knowledge led them to underestimate the vigilance of improper sexual relationship, as a result, they involved in compensated dating.

Another root cause of compensated dating is school girls are being materialist. They desire for materials and money in order to show off to others or make others think highly of them. In their mind, the importance of money and materials transcend morality, dignity and chastity. The HKASERT’s survey of compensated dating (2009) indicated that 87% girl respondents involved in compensated dating to earn money to enable high consumption (for example, to purchase well-known brand handbags). School girls pursue for materialistic satisfaction, their greed for money and luxury gifts led them think these are much precious than their body and dignity. Thus, school girls involved in compensated dating for supporting their conspicuous consumption.

Apart from school girls’ ignorance and desire, lack of care and love also make a lead to their participation in compensated dating. They were lack of parental love due to various reasons like their parents had long working hours or even need to work abroad. The HKASERT’s survey report indicated that 43% girl respondents engaged in this immoral activity to look for the feeling of being loved while a huge partial among them were grown in single-parent or broken families. They might engage in compensated dating because of their pathetic background. So instead of blaming them for engaging in this immoral behavior unwisely, tackling this worrisome issue by arranging a compulsory sex education class, create a “Values of Life” topic in Liberal Studies and increase the number of school social workers are much more rational actions before the situation deteriorate.

To combat compensated dating, most schools arrange some related talks. These talks might help to alert students about the seriousness of this improper activity shortly. In long-term, introducing a compulsory Sex Education Subject in primary schools and secondary schools could help to strengthen sex education among juveniles in Hong Kong. Sex Education has much more pressing needs than the national education. It could awaken school girls the seriousness and the adverse effect and improper sex relationship and strengthen their vigilance. However, sex education might result in the issue of compensated dating being more rampant as school girls access to relevant knowledge about the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and contraception methods.

Another way to prevent compensated dating is to develop a right value among girls. They engaged in compensated dating out of avarice. Create a new topic about Values of Life in Liberal Studies could help them to build up a right values of life, dignity and chastity should take precedence over money and materials, teach them to cherish their precious bodies. Spiritual wealth is much important than material wealth. They need not compare with others or follow the trend. However, it is hard to refuse following trends with friend under peer pressure or they might isolate by their friends. Besides, arrange more group activities or hiking trips so that they could feel the spiritual happiness from friends and the nature. Nevertheless, there might not be enough time for such time consuming activities.

Often, girls engaged in compensated dating were grown in single-parent or broken families, they were lack of parental love and care; therefore, deploying additional social worker at school to care the need of those girls would be an effective approach. Social workers could express solicitude by chatting and communicating with them regularly in order to give girls feeling of being cared and love. Social worker could provide professional counseling support when they seek for assistance. It is worth though it would directly increase schools’ financial expenses.

The above solution could help alleviating the worrisome situation of compensated dating. The most important way to tackle this issue is not by tough measures like forcing them to stop this immoral activity, this is just a palliatives way. Instead, by soft approach, strengthen their sex knowledge, building real values of life and showing care and love to them could help to alleviate the issue of compensated dating when they were conscious of the seriousness of this immoral behavior.

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[ 1 ]. Compensated dating: Men (male) give money and/or luxury gifts to women (female) for their companionship and, possibly, for sexual favors. (Wikipedia)
[ 2 ]. Conspicuous consumption: the spending of money for and the acquiring of luxury goods and services to publicly display economic power. (Wikipedia)