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We welcome the findings of the BPAS report Social media, SRE and Sensible Drinking: Understanding the dramatic decline in teenage pregnancy which confirms that 18 years after the launch of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy we have a generation of young people who are making informed decisions about their health and lives. This includes their alcohol use, their sexual relationships and their intentions for parenting and family life.
Many young people in England have positively benefited from the work of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, which saw good quality RSE delivered as part of multi-agency work which addressed sexual health, substance use and teenage parenthood. Public Health England recently published recommendations about the importance of continuing this whole systems approach. The success has been recognised by the World Health Organisation and the lessons being shared with other countries.
This report highlights the positive impact of RSE. However many young people still don’t receive good quality RSE and health promotion messages and services that support prevention are not reaching everyone. Despite substantial reductions in teenage pregnancy, rates in England are higher than in other European countries, and young people are one of the highest risk groups for Sexually Transmitted Infections.
This report strengthens the case for government to commit funding to good quality RSE and young people-friendly services, so that we can build on achievements to date. We must ensure that however young people’s social and sexual behaviour changes, they will always have the support they need to make and act on informed decisions.
Alison Hadley, Director of the Teenage Pregnancy Knowledge Exchange says:
The attitudes and behaviour of young people in this report reflect the original aims of the teenage pregnancy strategy – a generation with the knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed choices about sex, contraception and pregnancy, with high aspirations for education and future employment. However, stark inequalities remain. There is a six-fold difference in rates between local areas and outcomes for young parents and their children are disproportionately poor. Excellent work continues in many local areas but this must be safeguarded to support new cohorts of young people. As schools prepare for statutory relationships and sex education, government investment in training is essential to ensure high quality RSE for all children and young people."
Lisa Hallgarten, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Brook says:
Whatever, recent behavioural changes we observe in young people (attributed in this report to social media use amongst other factors), we are concerned that dramatic reductions in public health funding, and consequent cuts to contraceptive and sexual health services, and health promotion work, will undermine the progress that has been made. This in turn will threaten our ability to reach the most vulnerable, and those still failing to access health promotion messages and appropriate services."
Contacts
Teenage Pregnancy Knowledge Exchange – Caroline Jacobi, Communications Officer Tel: (01582) 743079 Mob: 07540 127103 caroline.jacobi@beds.ac.uk
Brook – Lisa Hallgarten, lisa.hallgarten@brook.org.uk Tel: 07766 704367
For media enquiries please contact Brook's press office on 07789 682831 or email press@brook.org.uk
Notes to editors
Brook believes that young people should have access to great sexual health services and wellbeing support.
Brook provides free and confidential sexual health information, contraception, pregnancy testing, advice and counselling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and education programmes, reaching nearly 235,000 young people nationwide every year.
Read our Strategic Plan 2017-2020 and learn more about the difference we make in our latest Success Report.
