When selecting their female partners, however, the respondents were quite
demanding, saying the woman chosen should be a virgin before marriage,
according to Jarmila Filadelfiová, who participated in preparing the research
on sexual and reproductive behavior in Roma communities in Slovakia.
In her opinion the negative position of girls and parents to premarital sex is
due to concerns over unwanted pregnancy and fear of being condemned by the
community.
When answering the question of whether children speak with their parents about
sex, up to 70 % of boys and 51 % of girls said they never have.
"From the research it can be seen that more than half of young Romani people
have no information whatsoever about sex and sexual health.
This lack of information should be covered by the schools or other
informational activities," Filadelfiová said.
The questionnaire was completed by 160 girls and 160 boys between the ages of
13 - 27 and by 172 parents between the ages of 17 - 58 from 12 districts in
Slovakia.
