What Do You Know About Sex?
England’s Sexual Health Quiz kicks off today, and is the first of its kind to see how parents’ knowledge of the birds and the bees stacks up against that of their teenagers.
The Sex. Worth Talking About campaign is challenging parents to take the quiz: www.sexualhealthquiz.co.uk
A recent survey[i], produced on behalf of the campaign, highlighted some worrying knowledge gaps about sex and relationships.
Experts are concerned that this along with unreliable advice, poor communication and a reluctance to speak about what’s on our minds could be fuelling unsafe sexual practices.
The results revealed:
· one in ten people (11%) don’t realise that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex standing up;
· a quarter (26%) of people never discuss contraception and almost a third (31%) never discuss sexual health with their partner;
· one fifth (19%) of young people and adults do not know that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex during her period; and
· almost a fifth (17%) do not realise that some STIs can’t be cleared-up with antibiotics
Parents are being urged to have open and frank conversations about contraception and sexual health with their teenagers.
This follows the Everyday Conversations Every Day [ii] report, which highlighted that three quarters (75%) of teenagers aged 11-14 years long for an easier way to talk to their parents about sex and growing up.
It also identified that, contrary to popular perceptions about teens, they feel parents are the best people to answer their questions.
Despite this, one in five parents (20%) finds talking about sex with their children a real challenge.
Key obstacles include embarrassment, the assumption that schools provide all the relevant information they need and the misperception that children just don’t want to talk to their parents about sex.
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