Teenage Sexual Activity-Implementing Effective Practice

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 17 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Press Notification - Summary Report

The recent Stormont Consultation "Teenage Sexual Activity-Implementing Effective Practice" looked at different approaches to the problem of teenage sexual activity and sexual health in general. Examples from Great Britain and Uganda were presented alongside our own "Five Year Sexual Health Promotion Strategy and Action Plan, Consultation Document".

Reference was also made to the Target 3 of the "Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood Strategy and Action Plan" that "75% of teenagers should not have experienced sexual intercourse by the age of 16".

The Consultation highlighted the need for an integrated approach, which should result in the future in a greater emphasis on supporting young people in delaying first sexual activity. In response to the Uganda example it was felt that it may also be helpful to explore ways of "switching on" the community response of reducing casual sex as a means of primary disease prevention.

Dr Barr of the RSE Forum "It is important that policy makers and politicians ensure that there are available resources targeted at "delaying sexual debut" through education programmes and training rather than just the services provision approach of "increasing condoms and contraception".

He also commented "As statutory and community agencies we need to explore how we can enable a "switching on" of a community response of reducing casual sex as a means of primary disease prevention?"

Points for Editors

• All the papers presented and background information on the Consultation, including speakers e-mail details are available on the RSE Forum website at www.rseforum.org

• The Five Year Sexual Health Promotion Strategy and Action Plan Consultation document is available on the DHSSPSNI website at http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/publichealth/sexualhealth.html

• Uganda experience highlighted in Dr Low-Beer paper - "Behaviour and communication change in reducing HIV: Is Uganda unique?" (2003), Low-Beer D, Stoneburner R, African Journal of AIDS Research 2(1), 1-13 available on RSE Forum website. www.rseforum.org

• Please check out the web site www.rseforum.org for full speaker presentation information, photographs and other information.

• Mr Nigel Williams and the MLA's who were involved in the conference are happy to be approached for comments on the conference and issues raised.

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