More youngsters having unsafe sex: global study

LONDON, England – Young people across the globe are

having more unprotected sex and know less about

effective contraception options, a multinational

survey revealed on Monday.

The “Clueless or Clued Up: Your Right to be informed

about contraception” study prepared for World

Contraception Day (WCD) reports that the number of

young people having unsafe sex with a new partner

increased by 111% in France, 39% in the USA and 19%

in Britain in the last three years.

“No matter where you are in the world, barriers exist

which prevent teenagers from receiving trustworthy

information about sex and contraception, which is

probably why myths and misconceptions remain so

widespread even today,” a member of the WCD task

force, Denise Keller, said in a statement with the

results of the study.

“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,”

Keller said.

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 including Chile,

Poland and China, on their attitudes toward sex and

contraception.

The level of unplanned pregnancies among young people

is a major global issue, campaigners say, and the

rise in unprotected sex in several counties has

sparked concern about the quality of sex education

available to youngsters.

In Europe, only half of respondents receive sex

education from school, compared to three quarters

across Latin America, Asia Pacific and the USA.

Many respondents also said that they felt too

embarrassed to ask a healthcare professional for

contraception.

“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 a statement.

“The results show 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 STIs (sexually transmitted

infections),” she said.

More than a third of respondents in Egypt believe

bathing or showering after sex will prevent

pregnancy, and more than a quarter of those in

Thailand and India believe that having intercourse

during menstruation is an effective form of

contraception.

But the fact that many young people engage in

unprotected sex and the prevalence of harmful myths

should not come as a surprise, Woodside said.

“How can young people make decisions that are right

for them and protect them from unwanted pregnancy and

STIs, if we do not empower them and enable them to

acquire the skills they need to make those choices?”

she said. –Reuters