WHO report highlights alarming rise in unprotected teenage sex
The World Health Organization published a report on the sexual lives of teenagers. The analysis showed that young people are increasingly having unprotected sex. Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe says that we are already reaping the bitter fruits of neglecting sexual education.
27 Aug 2024 | updated: 28 August 2024 07:27
According to European statistics, the majority of 17-year-old males and 19-year-old females have already had their first sexual initiation. It is an entirely normal need for every adult or maturing person.
The World Health Organization draws attention to a worrying fact that could affect the lives of young people. Increasingly, teenagers are having sex without any protection. This increases the risk of unwanted pregnancies and many sexually transmitted infections.
Teenagers are not using contraception
The European office of the World Health Organization published a report on the sexual lives of teenagers. The study involved 242,000 15-year-olds in 42 different countries and regions. It was conducted from 2014 to 2022.
The analysis showed that increasingly more young people are having sex without any protection. One-third of respondents reported that during their last intercourse they did not use a condom or other contraceptive methods. As many as 33% of them came from low social status families.
Although the report results are disheartening, they are not "surprising"
The previous report was published in 2014. Compared to the latest research, the percentage of young men using protection dropped from 70% to 61%, and for girls from 63% to 57%.
Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, comments that although the report results are disheartening, they are not surprising — comments According to the specialist, the lack of protection during sex is the result of insufficient sexual education.
Kluge explains that age-appropriate comprehensive sexual education remains neglected in many countries, and where it is available, it is increasingly under attack based on the erroneous assumption that it encourages sexual behaviour.
He also appealed to the authorities to pay more attention to this part of teenagers' education.
He added that the society is already reaping the bitter fruits of neglecting sexual education, and the worst is yet to come if governments, health authorities, and the education sector do not recognize the true causes of the current situation and take steps to fix it.
