Poor education blamed as more young people having risky sex

A study of British 16- to 19-year- olds has shown 61 per cent have had sex, with 43 per cent of those who were sexually active admitting to having had sex with a new partner without using contraception compared to 36 per cent in 2009.

Of those who admitted having had unprotected sex with a new partner, 23 per cent said they had done so because their partner did not like using contraception, with 15 per cent saying they were drunk and forgot.

The proportion of girls who said they had a close friend or family member who had an unplanned pregnancy rose from 36 per cent in 2009 to 55 per cent this year.

Only 55 per cent of girls said they considered themselves to be very well-informed about all the contraceptive options available compared to 62 per cent of boys, according to the study.

A total of 16 per cent of boys and girls said they believed the “withdrawal method” was an effective form of contraception.

Nearly one in five girls, 19 per cent, and 16 per cent of boys said they did not receive any kind of sex education at school, with 16 per cent of boys and girls saying they did not trust their teachers to provide accurate and unbiased information about contraceptive choices.

Researchers surveyed 200 British young people as part of a study of 6,026 15- to 24-year-olds in 29 countries conducted in April and May.

The findings have been released to coincide with World Contraception Day, a campaign to improve awareness of contraception.

Jennifer Woodside, of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, said: “What the results show is that too many young people either lack good knowledge about sexual health, do not feel empowered enough to ask for contraception or have not learned the skills to negotiate contraceptive use with their partners to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies or sexual transmitted infections.

“What young people are telling us is that they are not receiving enough sex education or the wrong type of information about sex and sexuality.

“It should not come as a surprise then that the result is many young people having unprotected sex.”