The age of menarche among Indian girls, which is reported to be declining, ranges from 11.5–14.5 years, with the current average age being 13.5 years. This has resulted in earlier onset of puberty and secondary sex characteristics, and increased reproductive exposure. (Bhatia,1993) With sexual maturation taking place earlier and the age of marriage delayed, the period of non-marital fecundity, ...

More than one fourth of the total population in Iran are young people aged 10-24 (1). On the one hand, strong cultural and religious values surround sexuality before marriage and on the other hand, shifts towards greater interaction between young men and women are occurring in response to the spread of education among females, the postponement of marriage, and outside influences (2-4). Although...

This paper presents preliminary findings about the manner in which public policies that promote premarital counseling impact professionals who conduct premarital counseling. The purpose of this paper is to describe findings from a survey of premarital counseling providers in a state in which the government endorses premarital counseling. A total of 194 premarital counseling providers described ...

Objective: To assess the relationship between men’s reported violence against wives and their sexual risk behaviours and sexual health. Design, setting and participants: Cross-sectional analyses of a survey of a nationally representative household-based sample of married men in Bangladesh (n = 3096). Main outcome measure(s): Physical and sexual violence against wives during the previous 12 mont...

EARLYMARRIAGEANDSEXUALACTIVITY Early marriage and early marital sexual activity present reproductive health risks for young women. Early marriage can lead to pregnancies that put young women at risk for obstetric fistulae,14 and can be a risk factor for HIV infection.*15 The risks for young girls conferred by early marriage may involve older male partners—who have often been sexually active for...