Taipei: A nationwide survey of fifth and sixth graders across Taiwan has found that more than half of them lack adequate sexual knowledge, while over 20 percent have already been in romantic relationships.

According to Focus Taiwan, the survey was jointly conducted by the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) and the Taiwan Gender Equity Education Association (TGEEA), collecting responses from 1,426 fifth and sixth graders across Taiwan between March and April. The results were released at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday.

In the section assessing students' sexual knowledge-most of whom were aged 11 to 12-58.9 percent answered fewer than seven out of 11 questions correctly, falling short of the benchmark set as the passing score. Huang Yun-hsuan, head of the CWLF's Organizational Development Division, noted that fewer than 2 percent of students answered all questions correctly, despite many students indicating that their schools had covered the topics. Over 50 percent had no recollection at all of what their teachers had taught, suggesting that students' understanding may vary depending on classroom instruction.

While current curriculum guidelines stipulate that school programs should include components of gender equality education, the organizations recommended that education authorities further strengthen the curriculum content and increase teaching hours. They emphasized that teaching materials should be grounded in real-life contexts and cover topics such as romantic and emotional development, online relationships, and gender diversity.

The organizations also urged parents to engage in open dialogue about sex with their children, starting from their children's questions and daily experiences. They cited research showing that such conversations significantly improve children's sexual knowledge and attitudes.

Regarding romantic relationships, 24.2 percent of the respondents expressed a desire to be in a relationship, while 23.1 percent had already dated. TGEEA Deputy Chairperson and high school teacher Yuan Wang highlighted the importance of helping children understand age-appropriate concepts, especially in relation to the law, noting that in Taiwan, those under 16 do not have the legal right to sexual autonomy.

According to the two organizations, of the 1,426 valid responses collected, 50.1 percent of participants were male, 48.9 percent were female, and 1 percent identified as another gender. The survey has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.59 percentage points.