Promiscuity

Given that most learners do have sex, it becomes important to reduce promiscuous sexual behaviour. Over 80% of learners knew that avoiding promiscuity is one way of reducing the risk of contracting an STD, with somewhat more learners at Sapler schools knowing this.

A similar high proportion realised that both partners have to be faithful.

Ninety four percent of learners at Sapler schools and 90% of learners at other schools thought it wrong for boys to be promiscuous. Promiscuity is generally considered a key risk behaviour and it is therefore encouraging that it is rejected by the overwhelming majority of learners (at least at the level of rhetoric).

Somewhat more learners (96%) at both schools rejected promiscuity for girls than for boys. This double-standard was most prominent at non-Sapler schools, where 6% more learners rejected promiscuity for girls than for boys.

Interestingly, girls did not subscribe to the double standard, with 94% rejecting both male and female promiscuity. However only 77% of boys rejected male promiscuity as opposed to 92% who rejected female promiscuity. The same pattern obtained for learners at Sapler schools as at other schools.

Thus although promiscuity is overwhelmingly rejected by learners, particularly by learners at Sapler schools, boys’ attitude towards male promiscuity remains a problem with between one in four and one in five boys endorsing it. As this kind of bravado is very much part of male culture in South Africa and elsewhere, it is unlikely to be easily changed and presents a particular challenge for institutions such as Sapler.

Another question tapping support for promiscuity (having more than one partner at a time) elicited similar strong rejection coupled with greater tolerance for boys’ promiscuous behaviour.

Given the rhetorical rejection of promiscuity, it is striking that 30% and more of learners indicated that they indeed do have more than one girlfriend or boyfriend. 

It is possible that again there may have been an element of male bravura in these responses (over 40% of boys claimed to have multiple sexual partners), but they are nevertheless in sharp contrast to the almost blanket rejection of the principle of promiscuity.

Another indication of promiscuity is the number of sexual encounters during the year and the total number of sexual partners of each learner. 

Unfortunately, these appear to have been difficult questions for learners to answer, with numerous implausible answers provided, such as over 200 sexual partners or many sexual encounters but no sexual partners. 

After the more unlikely answers were discarded, the number of sexual encounters this year was found to range from 0 to 70 with an average of 9 for learners at Sapler schools and 7.6 at other schools. 

Number of sexual partners ranged from 0 to 27 with an average of 2.97 for learners at Sapler schools and 2.48 for learners at other schools. The differences between Sapler and other schools was not statistically significant.