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Published on December 6, 2007

"Of 100,000 youths aged under 25, 33.98 had tried to kill themselves," Amornwich Nakornthap, head of the Child Watch project, said yesterday. He was speaking based on information collected between 2005 and 2006.

This figure meant 21 youths per day tried to take their own lives last year. In 2005, only 29.73 per 100,000 youths attempted suicide.

"When we questioned secondary-school and university students, up to 19 per cent said they had had sex in 2006, up from 16 per cent a year earlier," Amornwich said.

According to Amornwich, the increase in the number of sexually active students is reflected in the number of teenagers younger than 19 giving birth to babies last year. This figure rose to 71,000, up from 52,000 in 2005.

The survey also found the number of sexual-abuse victims rose from 6.42 to 31.32 per 100,000 youths under 18.

 The Nation