Sex and Thai society

The aim of the two-day conference is to inform people on sexual health and help reduce illness and deaths resulting from unprotected sex.

Assoc Professor Kritaya Archavanitkul, from Mahidol University's Institute for Popu-lation and Social Research, said the conference was the first of its kind aimed at giving the public a new perspective. In the past, older people tended to view the younger generation's sexual expressions as inappropriate and problematic.

Kritaya said the organisers wanted society to view that young people were neither the cause of problems nor victims.

She urged all sides to work together and base their views on modern sexuality studies to bring new knowledge, refine how adolescents think about sexual matters and push for a better public-health policy regarding sexual health education and sexual rights.

"People's sexual knowledge is still full of misconceptions and sexual bias, so this conference will talk about everything and with everyone, regardless of which sex they are," she said.

The Nation