Break the Silence: Knowledge and Attitude Towards Sexual and Reproductive Health Among Egyptian Youth

Sexual health and education are rarely investigated in the Middle East countries, including Egypt. We performed the current study to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards sexual health practices among Egyptian youth. A self-administered questionnaire was translated from English to Arabic. After pilot-testing, the eligible population was invited to fill it online. Nine-hundred and fifty-five participants filled the questionnaire (53% males and 88.5% single). Around 61% of the participants were of the opinion that sexual education is necessary and rejected the notion that sexual education is religiously prohibited. Only 26% discussed sex-related matters with a parent. Although over 80% think that masturbation is either prohibited, wrong or medically harmful, 62% have masturbated before. Living with parents was not associated with less masturbation (p = 0.23). Moreover, although 85% of the participants think that watching pornography is either wrong or prohibited, 74% have watched porn clips before (significantly more frequent among males: p < 0.0001). A quarter of the responders indicated that they have been touched by a stranger/relative against their will. In conclusion, the majority of surveyed Egyptian youth expressed unfavorable attitudes towards masturbation and watching pornography -despite being quite common- and supported the importance of sexual education.