19 October 2005

Taking away the right to confidential sexual health advice would be disastrous for many teenagers, warns Brook

Any erosion of young people’s rights to confidential sexual health advice and services could lead to a massive increase in the number of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among teenagers, Jan Barlow, Chief Executive of Brook, will warn today. 

In a survey recently carried out by Brook, the sexual health charity for young people, almost two thirds (64%) of young people 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, a policy which has already been adopted in some areas and could become more widespread. Almost three quarters (74%) of young people under 16 said they would be less likely to seek advice in these circumstances.

Brook today launches its new campaign, Wise Up! Your rights on sexual health 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. It will also urge all health workers to follow the best practice guidance that is widely available on working with young people.

The campaign has already gained the support of a range of influential organisations representing health professionals and young people, including the General Medical Council, the Royal College of Nursing, the UK Youth Parliament, the National Youth Agency, Action on Rights for Children, the fpa, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care. 

Jan Barlow said:

"Any erosion of young people’s rights to receive sexual health advice and treatment would be disastrous. It could reverse all the good work that has been set in progress, leading to a whole generation of young people losing faith in the sexual health services available to them, and to a massive increase in the rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Abusive or coercive relationships would also be more likely to remain hidden if young people felt there was no one they could trust to listen to them in confidence.

“Young people consistently say that confidentiality is their top concern when they need advice on issues such as contraception, pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. More than half of the young people in our survey said it was the single most important thing for them; and almost two thirds said they would be less likely to seek advice if they knew that sexually active young people’s details could be automatically passed on to social workers. 

“It’s essential that the Government stands by the approach adopted in its teenage pregnancy strategy, which emphasises the importance of confidentiality. The teenage pregnancy rate has fallen by 10% since that strategy was put in place. If young people lose confidence in health professionals, that trend will almost certainly be reversed.”

The Government is currently consulting on guidance for professionals who work with young people which could lead to them being required to report all sexual activity among younger teenagers to social workers and police, regardless of the circumstances. Guidance of this sort has already been adopted in some areas, despite the fact that it runs counter to advice issued by the Department of Health, the Home Office and the Teenage Pregnancy Unit. The Government’s guidance on the treatment of under-16s is also due to be challenged in the courts in a judicial review due to take place in November.

Brook is also concerned because it regularly hears from young people who say health workers have been obstructive, disrespectful or have failed to recognise their right to confidentiality. For example, one caller to the Brook helpline had been refused emergency contraception by her doctor on the grounds that she was 15 years old. Another had been to the doctor having already done two positive pregnancy tests, but when she said she wanted a termination the doctor did another test and claimed it was negative, although the caller could see it was in fact positive.

Brook is contacting a wide range of health organisations asking them to sign up to the campaign and to ensure that their own services and/or procedures are young people friendly. It will also be distributing publicity materials to tell young people about their rights on sexual health through its website, its network of Centres and through health, youth and education workers.


Summary of key survey findings

  • 53% of all respondents and 62% of those aged under 16 said that confidentiality was the single most important thing for them when they were seeking advice about sexual health matters. The next most popular answer was ‘not being judged by anyone’, accounting for 19% of all responses.  
  • Only 36% of young people said they would complain if they were not happy with the way they had been treated. 25% said they would not, and 20% said they did not know whether or not they would complain. A further 19% did not respond to this question.
  • When asked if they thought health professionals should be allowed to tell anyone else about visits from under-16s, 78% of all respondents and 91% of under-16s said no, confirming that this is a matter of particular concern to younger teenagers.
  • When asked whether there were any situations in which it might be acceptable for a doctor or clinic to breach confidentiality by telling social workers about a young person, 42% said no. 35% said it would be acceptable in some circumstances. 23% did not know or did not answer this question. 
  • Of those who said it would be acceptable in some situations two thirds (66%) specified circumstances such as abuse, rape or situations where a young person was at serious risk of harm. This indicates that many young people do understand that there might be exceptional circumstances in which confidentiality needs to be breached but feel strongly that information about them should not be routinely shared.
  • 90% of all young people said it would be useful for young people to be given more information about their rights on sexual health.

Brook also recently commissioned three young journalists from Children’s Express to carry out interviews with young people about their views on sexual health advice and services. Here are some examples of their views:

Mueen, male, aged 14, said:

“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.” 

Tara, female, aged 17, said: 

“…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.”

Nadia, female, aged 12, said:

“… 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.”


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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. 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.

2. The following additional materials are available from the Brook press office or on the Brook website.
• Other organisations’ statements of support for the Wise Up! campaign
• Summary of findings of the survey Brook carried out of 729 young people under 25 who were clients at Brook Centres during August and September 2005.
• Interviews Brook commissioned three young journalists from Children’s Express to carry out about young people’s views on sexual health advice for young people.
• A policy briefing on the issues the Wise Up! campaign aims to address

  • A summary of good practice on working with young people
    • Samples of the posters and wallet-cards produced to advertise the campaign to young people

3. 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. More information is available at www.childrens-express.org

4. Young people can call Brook free and in confidence on 0800 0185 023 or by online enquiry via Ask Brook at www.brook.org.uk