What's Love Got To Do With It Too?

Listening to Woman's Hour this morning, I wasn't really surprised to hear that recent research suggests that young people are dissatisfied with the sex education they receive at school. I do remember my own, which was so clinical and so focused on animal reproduction and the horror of STDs (complete with a film showing advanced syphilis) that my best friend and I were left wondering why anybody ever dared to, or even wanted to have sex... But that was many years ago, and it was a Catholic school, and I did think things had moved on a bit.

And, the young people surveyed also said that their parents hadn't helped much - in fact most of their information had come from the tv, the internet and their peers. So that hasn't changed either. But what struck me most, was that they had said that what they needed was less of the biology and the ‘facts' and more opportunity to talk about the more complex issues around making relationships, recognising when someone is trying to use or exploit you - and all of the feelings associated with intimacy.