10 January 2006


Poll reveals massive public support for key sexual health priorities in 2006

Initiatives to reduce rates of unplanned teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections could be given a major boost if two key challenges are met in the year ahead, Jan Barlow, Chief Executive of Brook, the sexual health charity for young people, said today.

The protection of young people’s rights to confidential sex and relationships advice services, and the introduction of sex and relationships education as a compulsory part of the national curriculum would ensure every young person had the information and support they needed to look after their sexual health, she said. The results of an opinion poll published today also reveal overwhelming public support for confidential sexual health advice services and better sex and relationships education for young people.

The poll, commissioned as part of Brook’s Wise Up! campaign to promote and protect young people’s rights on sexual health, was carried out in December as part of a GfK NOP Omnibus survey. Key findings include:

  • 94% of people agreed that young people who don’t feel able to talk to their parents about sex and relationships should be able to get confidential information and advice elsewhere
  • 70% disagreed with the idea that making it possible for young people to get confidential sexual health advice and services leads them to start having sex earlier
  • 94% agreed that sex and relationships education should cover the emotional as well as the sexual aspects of relationships
  • 86% agreed that every young person should receive sex and relationships education in school as a compulsory part of the national curriculum.

Commenting on the poll, Jan Barlow, Chief Executive of Brook, said:

“Too many young people still have to deal with an unplanned pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection simply because they don’t have access to the information and the services they need. If in the year ahead we can secure a guarantee that every young person is entitled to confidential advice and services, and to comprehensive sex and relationships education (SRE) at school, then 2006 could be seen as a real turning point in improving the nation’s sexual health.

“The debate about sexual health advice and education can sometimes be distorted by a minority view that giving young people advice and information about sex and relationships leads them to become sexually active before they are ready. In fact, all the evidence shows that the opposite is true: young people who have received SRE and know where to go for confidential advice are more likely to delay becoming sexually active, and to use contraception when they do.

“It’s encouraging to see such a high level of public support for policies which could help reduce rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection.”

Last year young people’s right to receive confidential sexual health advice and services was challenged in a judicial review of the Department of Health’s guidance for health professionals working with under-16s. A decision on that case is expected shortly. Some local Area Child Protection Committees have also developed guidance that requires professionals working with children and young people to breach confidentiality by informing social services about any young person who is sexually active under the age of consent regardless of the circumstances.

There was also widespread debate during 2005 about the status of sex and relationships education (SRE) in schools. The Government has so far resisted calls from a wide range of organisations, including Brook and the Government’s independent advisors on teenage pregnancy, sexual health and HIV to make SRE a compulsory part of the national curriculum, which would cover emotional as well as sexual issues.

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For further information call Catherine Evans on 0207 284 6047 or e-mail catherinee@brookcentres.org.uk

Notes to editors

  1. GfK NOP Consumer carried out a survey of 988 adults aged 16 and above between 16 and 18 December 2005. The sample was designed and the data weighted to be representative of all adults in telephone owning households in the UK. Interviews were carried out by telephone using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing.
  2. The judicial review of the Department of Health’s guidance for professionals on provision of advice and treatment to young people under 16 on contraception, sexual and reproductive health, initiated by Mrs Sue Axon, was heard in the High Court on 8-10 November 2005. A decision in the case is expected early in 2006.
  3. The Government’s consultation on its guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children closed in October 2005. There are concerns among professionals that the revised version may replicate prescriptive protocols on working with sexually active young people under the age of 18, which have been adopted by a number of Area Child Protection Committees (ACPCs) in England, and which require professionals to inform social services about any young person who is sexually active under the age of consent, regardless of the circumstances. Brook has expressed its strong opposition to mandatory reporting.
  4. A legal opinion commissioned by Action on Rights for Children and written by Stephen Grosz, a partner in London solicitors Bindmans, published in November 2005, heavily criticised the protocols on working with sexually active young people recently adopted in Sheffield and London. It stated that the protocols:
    - are likely to be in breach of the Human Rights Act;
    - do not include adequate safeguards about access to the information held by different agencies, including the police;
    - leave ‘little or no scope for the exercise of professional judgment’.
  5. Brook launched its campaign, Wise Up! Your rights on sexual health in October 2005 in response to concerns that young people’s right to confidentiality is under threat. The campaign aims to uphold that right and to increase awareness of all young people’s rights on sexual health. Brook is also urging all health workers to follow the best practice guidance that is widely available on working with young people. For more information about the campaign click here.
  6. In a survey published for the launch of the Wise Up campaign almost two thirds (64%) of young people, and 74% of those under 16, said they would be less likely to seek advice on issues such as contraception, pregnancy and STIs if they knew that health workers could pass on information about underage sexual activity to social workers. More details about that survey are available here.
  7. The Wise Up! campaign has gained the support of a range of influential organisations representing health professionals and young people, including the General Medical Council, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Nursing, the UK Youth Parliament, the National Youth Agency, Action on Rights for Children, Childline ,the fpa, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care.
  8. Brook is the country’s leading provider of free, confidential sexual health advice and contraception to young people under 25. The charity has 40 years’ experience of providing impartial and confidential sexual health advice and services to young people through a national network of 17 centres across the UK. Each year Brook provides more than 100,000 young people with professional advice from specially trained doctors, nurses, counsellors and outreach and information workers.
  9. Young people can contact Brook free and in confidence on 0800 0185 023 or by online enquiry via Ask Brook at www.brook.org.uk


Annex - Poll findings

Confidential information and advice

  • 94% of people agreed that young people who don’t feel able to talk to their parents about sex and relationships should be able to get confidential information and advice elsewhere
  • Young adults (aged 16-24) were most likely to agree (98% agreed).
  • Older adults (65+) were least likely to agree, but even among this age group a clear majority (89%) felt young people should be able to get confidential information and advice.

Effect of making confidential sexual health services available for young people

  • 70% of respondents disagreed that making it possible for young people to get confidential sexual health advice and services leads them to start having sex earlier. 25% agreed.
  • People aged 25-34 were most likely to disagree with the statement (80% disagreed). Levels of agreement increased with age - 36% of adults aged over 65 agreed.
  • People with children in their household were less likely to believe that giving young people access to confidential sexual health advice and services increase the likelihood of them having sex earlier – only 21% agreed, compared with 26% of those without children in the household.

Content of sex and relationships education in schools

  • 94% of all respondents agreed that sex and relationships education should cover the emotional as well as the sexual aspects of relationships.
  • People aged 25-34 were most likely to agree – 98% of this age group agreed, compared with 88% of people aged over 65.
  • People with children in their household were also more likely to agree that SRE should cover the emotional as well as physical aspects of a relationship – 96% of them agreed, compared with 93% of those without children in the household.

Status of SRE in schools

  • 86% of all respondents agreed that every young person should receive sex and relationships education in school as a compulsory part of the national curriculum.
  • Young adults were most likely to agree (92% of those aged 16-24 and 93% of those aged 25-34 agreed).
  • Older age groups were less likely to agree, but there were still strong levels of support (83% of those aged 55-64 and 77% of over 65s agreed).