Concern as more young people having unprotected sex
Summary of story from Reuters, September 26, 2011.
The number of young people having unprotected sex has risen across the globe, a new study reveals.
The study, “Clueless or Clued Up: Your Right to be informed about contraception”, was prepared to mark World Contraception Day (WCD), September 26.
It reports that in the last three years the number of youngsters having unsafe sex with a new partner increased by 111 percent in France, 39 percent in the US and 19 percent in Britain.
Denise Keller, of the WCD task force, said: “When young people have access to contraceptive information and services, they can make choices that affect every aspect of their lives, which is why it’s so important that accurate and unbiased information is easily available for young people to obtain.”
The survey, commissioned by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and endorsed by 11 international non-governmental organizations, questioned more than 6,000 young people from 26 countries on their attitudes toward sex and contraception.
The rise in unprotected sex has sparked concern about the quality of sex education available to youngsters.
“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,” spokeswoman for the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Jennifer Woodside, said.
In Europe, only half of respondents receive sex education from school, compared to three quarters across Latin America, Asia Pacific and the USA.