New research shows high rates of unprotected sex among adolescents across EU which has ‘significant implications for health and safety’
Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said the report’s findings are 'dismaying' but 'not surprising'.
According to the report, known as the 2022 national health behaviour in school-aged children study, 44 per cent of 15-year-old boys reported they or their partner did not use a condom during their last incident of sexual intercourse, with this number being 49 per cent for girls. Adding to this, 73 per cent of boys said that they or their partner had not used the contraceptive pill the last time they engaged in sexual activity, while 59 per cent of girls said this.
However, this is affected by affluence, with the prevalence of having had sex being significantly higher among low-affluence boys than high-affluence boys . “But education must go beyond just providing information. Young people need safe spaces to discuss issues like consent, intimate relationships, gender identity and sexual orientation,” he said.
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