Sex a festive gift for some youths, survey finds

Nearly one in five young people say a one-night stand would be acceptable at Christmas, a survey has found.

The finding prompted the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups to warn that some youngsters might offer sex as a Christmas gift.

The federation interviewed 509 youngsters aged between 12 and 29 last month, and 212 of them said Christmas should be spent with their intimate partner.

Some 85, or 17 per cent, said a "one-night stand" during the festival was acceptable.

The group's supervisor, Hsu Siu-man, said the Christmas party atmosphere fuelled by alcohol could make the teenagers more relaxed about intimate contact.

"Some teenagers might offer sex as a Christmas present to their partner," she said. "They should really know the consequences of their acts before making any rash decision."

She said every year the group's call centre received about 350 calls for help about love or sex around Christmas, while the average number of calls on the topic is about 100 a month.

According to the group, the calls were mainly about pregnancy, sexual diseases and relationship troubles.

For couples in a rocky relationship, the group advised them to break up after Christmas as the festival could increase their feelings of loneliness and sorrow.

Ms Hsu said volunteers at the centre needed to spend more time counselling youngsters who broke up at Christmas.

About 30 per cent of those questioned said they found breaking up at Christmas "unacceptable" or "totally unacceptable".

For 22-year-old Vincent, who broke up with his girlfriend in May, Christmas will be spent visiting homes for the elderly.

He admitted the atmosphere at Christmas parties could be seductive but he believed that a person could stick to their principles if they had firm ideas about sex.

He felt that ending a relationship at Christmas might do more harm as the person would remember it every year. "Before you start a relationship, you should know the other's expectation and be responsive," he said.

Joee Tong, said she had no plans to begin a more intimate relationship with her boyfriend at Christmas. "I am not sure whether my boyfriend is my lifetime partner yet," she said.