[Cool Teen Sites]
Sex 'not risky', say teenagers
Teenagers slow to seek sex advice
Many young people do not use contraception because they do not believe they will have
"bad" sex involving infections or pregnancy, say researchers.
Teenagers do not believe such consequences are relevant to them, according to sex advice
charity Brook.
Young people, particularly under 16-year-olds, won't risk asking for advice unless they
are reassured that services are confidential and non-judgemental
They are also unlikely to seek advice about contraception and sex if they are under-age
because of worries about confidentiality and the law. In surveys of young
people carried out for the charity by Southampton University and an advertising agency,
teenagers said they regarded safe sex messages as "preached".
It was not directly relevant to them because they did not consider themselves at risk of
sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy. However, 40% of those questioned
admitted to failing to use contraception because they were under the influence of alcohol
or drugs.
Age of consent
Young people were unlikely to seek advice before the legal age of consent at 16
- young women who first had sex before they were 16 were six times
more likely than over 16s to say "fear of being too young" was the reason they
had not sought information.
"Bad" or "unhappy" sex was something that other people had, they said.
But young people who sought information before they first had sex were eight
times more likely to use contraception than those who did not get professional advice.
Of those who went to a sex advice centre, 70% had already had sex - most young women went
because they had had unprotected sex, experienced contraceptive failure or wanted to
change their contraception. Emergency contraception was the reason for the visit in
the case of 40% of young women. Alison Hadley, national policy officer for Brook,
said: "Young people, particularly under 16-year-olds, won't risk asking for
advice unless they are reassured that services are confidential and
non-judgemental."
She said that information to teenagers must be done in an imaginative and innovative way
which encouraged them to seek help with relationships and contraception.
The charity aims to launch a campaign in teenage magazines later this year.
Source: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_642000/642799.stm)