Young people are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections. Last year, more than 40 per cent of women diagnosed with gonorrhoea were aged between 16 and 19, and we also have one of the highest rates of unplanned teenage pregnancies in Western Europe. These facts suggest that young people aren't following advice about safer sex, but how can we be sure that they were given any in the first place? A survey carried out for the Terrence Higgins Trust last year found that two out of three young people thought the sex education they received at school was inadequate.
Thorough sex and relationship education is a key component of a young person's development. Each young person should learn the biological facts about sex at school, but the moral and social aspects of sex and relationship education are much more contentious.
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