What young people think
We did a survey of young people who use Brook’s Centres around the country to find out their views on their rights on sexual health. 90% said it would be a good idea to give young people more information about these issues. Find out more about the survey results here.
We also commissioned some young journalists from Children’s Express to carry out the interviews with young people featured on this part of the website.
These interviews were produced by Monique, 15, Mica 12, and Nathan, 13.
Samir, 16, male
“I think everyone needs help and advice sometimes, and it’s really important for young people to be able to get the right free and confidential advice, regardless of their age and reasons.
“I think it would definitely affect my decision to ask for advice if I thought it wasn’t confidential. I’d want impartial, unbiased and confidential advice, which is different to what you’d get from parents or teachers. These issues are very sensitive for young people and they need professional advice, not concerned faces and comments like they’d get from their parents.”
Virginia, 13, female
“The law for having sex is 16 but most girls do it way before then* so I think school should teach sex education earlier. Some schools don’t even teach it until year 9 and boys and girls should be taught the same things in sex education because we need to know more about each other.”
*it is a common misconception that the majority of young people are sexually active before the age of 16. In fact research has found that 26% of women and 30% of men aged 16-19 report having had sexual intercourse before the age of 16.
Kamal, 14, male
“Some young people can talk to their parents about sex but it depends on the kind of parents you have. If you have the kind of the parents you can talk to about anything then ‘straight up’. But with some parents, if you just mention the word S-E-X they’ll kill you.”
Nazia, 15, female
“I think confidential advice should be available when you’re in your teens because as much as we like to deny we need help, everyone needs someone to talk to. Especially someone we can trust to keep things confidential...
“But if you’re pregnant and you go to a doctor without your parents I don’t think they take you seriously. They think we’re unable to make our own decisions. If a girl wants to have an abortion and she’s underage I think as long as she’s mature enough to make that decision, then she should be allowed to.”
Mueen, 14, male
“If you can’t get confidential advice then you’re more likely to keep things a secret. If I thought this sort of advice wasn’t confidential and someone would tell my parents then I wouldn’t ask for it.
“Young people don’t always trust their teachers to talk to about these issues. What if the teacher tells your parents?”
Nadia, 12, female
“I can easily talk to my mum about sex but definitely not my dad because it’s just a bit awkward.
“I wouldn’t trust my teachers enough to talk to about these issues because you don’t know who they’re going to tell. Maybe I could talk to my aunt or a family member about these things. Or someone I was close to like my sister.
“When you’re a teenager, you really need confidential advice because you need help with these kind of things and no matter how old you are you’re going to be thinking about this stuff soon enough…
“Doctors don’t treat young people very well. They treat you like you’re stupid so you can’t really go to them about anything because they won’t be taking you seriously.”
Tara 17, female
“Many young people are afraid to talk to their parents about sex, or simply too embarrassed. Sometimes their parents overreact or appear to not care at all about their welfare so they don’t have the confidence to talk to them frankly about sex.
“Most students would be too embarrassed to talk to their teacher about sex, and teachers also have a tendency to get embarrassed. I think it’s easier for young people to talk to mentors because they know they can talk to them confidentially.
“Young people need to have confidential advice so they don’t have to be scared of being found out and judged by their parents and friends. It gives them a chance to be honest and say what they want."
Children’s Express is a programme of learning through journalism for young people aged eight to 18. Children’s Express runs a number of projects including Big Mouth which is part of the Department of Health’s Young People’s Development Programme (YPDP). YPDP aims to address the needs of young people who are at risk, especially of substance misuse, teenage pregnancy and social exclusion.
