Teenage pregnancies have been a hot topic in the past few months. The nation was shocked to hear that once again, teenage pregnancies are on the increase. So it begs the question, where are we going wrong?
Statistics show that the UK had the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe and is only second to The United States, according to figures from the World Health Organisation.
It was reported that The Committee of Advertising Practise is about to start a three month consultation into whether advertisements for condoms and abortion clinics should be shown before watershed on television and radio.
The plans have come about after the shocking statistics were announced, in a bid to help the situation. Efforts are even more essential after it was reported that teenagers are turning to internet pornography in order to answer their queries about sex. As a result, more children are having unprotected sex at an earlier age.
It has been argued that the main cause of teenage pregnancies in the UK is down to the lack of sex education provided in schools.
A secondary school teacher from Nottingham said: “I think the primary responsibility for sex and relationship education lies with parents, but as with all things this has to be a partnership between home, school, and the health and welfare agencies.”
“Part of the reason why some teenagers are missing out on key education and information could be because these parties don’t communicate as effectively as they could – schools and parents don’t discuss sex education, and healthcare and social care professionals don’t talk to schools (and vice versa) as much as they should.”
Hayley Wells 21, from Nottingham had her first child at the age of 16, she said: “I was in a relationship at the time and had been sexually active for a while, my daughter wasn’t planned and when I found out it all seemed a bit surreal.”
“You never think it is going to happen to you, and I admit, we were careless about using protection. Sex education was not widely taught in school. The majority of what you learn is in biology, rather than lessons specifically on sex education.”
Government plant to make sex education a compulsory part of the national curriculum in primary and secondary schools by 2010, meaning children will learn more about relationships, contraception and the meaning of sex.
It will be also being made compulsory in Faith schools, allowing teachers to adapt their teaching to their own beliefs. Parents will also get the legal right to withdraw children from the classes if they wish to do so.
Hayley said: “I definitely think sex education should be taught more in schools. I think kids are completely oblivious to how much having a baby changes your life. I was only 16 and I suddenly had to grow up and become responsible. I missed out on the things that normal teenagers get up to, because I had a baby to look after. I wouldn’t change my daughter for the world, but if I could turn back time, I would have had her later on in life.”
Picture taken from Google Image
Laura Newton
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