NCB Now: Comment - Why are we too nervous to talk about sex?

Labour MP Chris Bryant, recently released a report that once again highlighted that sex and relationships lessons should be made compulsory in schools. Bryant argued that good quality sex and relationships education must be available to all secondary school children if Britain is to avoid having the highest number of under-18 conceptions in Western Europe.

The report echoed what children have long been telling us - that most children learn about sex and relationships from friends, through television, the internet and pornography. Lessons from many schools and parents are at best patchy and inconsistent, and at worst unheard of.

Legally, schools have to teach the biological aspects of sex, contraception and sexually transmitted infections. But we know that sex is rarely that simple and young people need an education that goes beyond biology and looks at issues around relationships, sexuality, choices and risks.