More teenagers having unprotected sex

More teenagers are having unprotected sex, putting themselves at risk of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy, a survey has found.

Some 43 per cent of British teenagers aged between 16 and 19 admitted to having had sex without using contraception, compared with 36 per cent in 2009.

Of those who had engaged in unprotected sex with a new partner, 23 per cent said they had done so because their partner did not like using contraception and 25 per cent said it was because they had been drunk and forgotten.

The survey was carried out to mark World Contraception Day 2011, which aims to improve awareness of contraception. Some 200 youngsters living in Britain were interviewed as part of the international study, which involved 6,026 young people in 29 countries.

Other reasons for not using contraception included feeling embarrassed to speak to someone about it and because they did not want to appear 'uncool.'

Around 19 per cent of girls and 16 per cent of boys who were interviewed said they had not been given any kind of sex education.

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 STIs.

"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 and that harmful myths continue to flourish in place of accurate information."

This article was published on Mon 26 September 2011