Gloves Off - Teenage Pregnancy

During the week commencing 19th February, Satellite TV's Channel M (Channel 203) broadcast an enlightening “Gloves Off” programme about teenage pregnancy, bringing together Barbara Hastings-Asatourian, from Contraception Education, Jon Dunne, Teenage Pregnancy Coordinator from Manchester and Vanessa Bridge of Young Black Peerspectives.

Background
Children of teenage parents are at a higher risk of poverty, poor health and infant mortality and Manchester has a high rate of teenage pregnancy, and many indicators of social deprivation. Most teenage pregnancies are in the 16-18 group. Of 41,000 under 18 pregnancies in England each year, about 2600 are in Greater Manchester. About 40% of Manchester’s teenage pregnancies end in abortion, over 1000 a year in greater Manchester, showing a real need for better access to contraception.

Panel discussion
When asked about the state of sex education panel members said sex education is inconsistent, depending on individuals, schools, parents, teachers, materials, staff training and funding. Barbara Hastings-Asatourian has developed resources, like Contraception the Board Game, and provides training for teachers and parents, with a focus on building self esteem. The message from Western Europe is that the earlier and the better the sex education is, the later and less risky first sex will be. There is absolutely no evidence to support sex education encouraging sexual promiscuity.

When asked why some teenagers choose to become pregnant, the panel said some may be repeating a familiar pattern, some may not have had a happy childhood, they may have been in care, they may even have been sexually abused, and may now be looking for love in their lives. They need support.

Groups who are supporting teenagers do not automatically receive funds, some get grants, short term funding only to have it withdrawn. Barbara says “If teenage pregnancy and health are major issues that the government is tackling, the funding needs to be permanent, not here for 6 months or 3 years or just the duration of a government”

One argument we sometimes hear is that teenage girls are choosing to get pregnant to get a house to “land on their feet”. The Gloves Off panel were very quick to refute this, saying that teenage parents are generally poorer. Under 16’s cannot claim benefits in their own right, and accommodation can be far from ideal.

So will the government’s target of halving teenage pregnancy by 2010 be realised?

The panel was optimistic that the trend will continue to be down, but to half the rate is highly unlikely without

• considerably more effort towards leveling out inequalities
• good consistent statutory sex education
• good information about contraception and teen friendly access to contraception
  
  To find out more about what we do please visit http://www.contraceptioneducation.co.uk/
  
  

Contraception Education

Should sex education be a statutory subject in schools?
Last October the Institute for Public Policy Research called for PSHE (Personal Social and Health Education), including SRE (Sex and Relationships Education), to be made a statutory subject in all schools in England and Wales. Read Contraception Education's news report on http://www.contraceptioneducation.com/nitem.asp?news_id=300
The recommendation comes in a report called 'Freedom's Orphans: Raising Youth in a Changing World' published in November 2006. The report shows that British teenagers are the most sexually active in Europe and are third least likely to use a condom during underage sex. Britain has the highest rate of births to teenagers in Western Europe, with an average of 26 live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19, and the sexual health of British teenagers is considerably poorer than it was a decade ago.
The report recommends that pupils should be taught about the importance of contraception in their last year of primary school, and that a full range of contraception should be made easily available to teenagers. Other recommendations include services for parents to be made available at schools, and action to reduce the numbers of teenagers becoming pregnant for a second time. Further details are available at the IPPR website .

But should all young people get the same sex education?
A study published in the Journal of Health Psychology Vol. 12, No. 1, 179-183 (2007) concludes that pupils should be taught sex and relationships education according to their experience. The survey by researchers at Coventry University of 3,800 13 to 16-year-olds found that their sex life is so varied that safer sex cannot be encouraged with one standard model. A quarter had had sex and most had not used condoms the first time. Fifty-five per cent had used contraception every time. The study suggests that 'streaming' sex education lessons could be achieved by teaching in after school youth groups and by using sex education CDs that pupils can use privately. However, the researchers conclude that whole class teaching may be appropriate for advice on using condoms and where to get them from and they recommend that condoms should be available in all schools. An abstract of the study report is available:http://hpq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/1/179 Guardian, 9 February 2007, p13; Telegraph, 9 February 2007, p2


And what about the age of consent?
The age of consent different all over the world. See http://www.avert.org/aofconsent.htm. It ranges from 12 to 18, and different laws are still applied to different sexual preferences. It makes me wonder why when as a health professional I know that it is hard for some young people to receive safe sex messages because some young people are afraid to say they are sexually active in case they get into trouble with the law.

The law in the UK is quite complicated. On my Resources page I have looked the law and sex in the UK http://www.contraceptioneducation.com/sdays.asp?news_id=20

In an interview with the Independent on 15th February, Matthew Waites, lecturer in sociology at University of Glasgow and author of 'The Age of Consent:Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship', says that the current law on the age of consent does not work and needs to be lowered. He argues that the law criminalises young people and creates a climate of denial among parents and some professionals, which prevents young people from seeking advice and assistance about sexual health and sexual behaviour. (Independent Education, 15 Feb 2007, p4)