Sexuality

Parents of teenagers continue to be extremely anxious about the risk of teenage and underage pregnancy, but despite the headlines that seem to assert all teenagers are sexually active from an early age, the reality is not so extreme. Only a quarter of teenagers have had their first sexual experience before they are 16.

Family Lives encourages parents to show that they are there for their teenagers, ready to listen and talk when their child wants it. Once the lines of communication are opened up, it will be much easier to talk openly about sexual relationships and to give easy to understand messages on contraception and the importance of safe sex.

All the facts show that if children have been told about sex and relationships from an early age, especially...

Article by Natalie Dye

It isn’t a case of if a young person will be exposed to pornography but when, according to The Sexualisation of Children, a government report published in February 2010. The average teen spends one hundred minutes a week surfing for porn, according to research by cyberSentinel.co.uk

“Finding porn online is so easy, and it’s not always deliberate,” says psychologist Corinne Sweet, an expert on pornography, relationships and addiction.

“Young people are naturally curious. If they see a pop-up window they might click on it and be led to porn, or be sent links to it in junk mail.”

The Home Office report adds that online porn is increasingly dominated by themes of aggression, power...

A powerful film by the gay charity Stonewall is changing the way children and teachers think about how they use the word ‘gay’ FIT is a film developed by Stonewall to help tackle homophobic bullying in Britain’s schools. It aims in particular to challenge the casual homophobia of school life – an environment where the word ‘gay’ has become a term of everyday abuse; where everything from not liking sport, wearing the ‘wrong’ trainers or even sporting a new haircut can be termed ‘gay’.

The film follows six young people who think that all they have in common is that they have to take Dance and Drama because they’ve been kicked out of all the other classes. As the story develops, it tackles issues including homophobia, sexual identity and acceptance. Viewers are encouraged to...

Paula Hall, Relate psychotherapist, advises:

• Don’t automatically assume that your child has been seeking out porn if you see sexual words on their search history. They may have been looking for information on sex education or sexual health matters, or clicked on a link from another site.
• A lot of young people use the internet for sex education and health concerns, so if you decide to put parental controls on their computer, do your research. Choose one which blocks porn but still permits access to sexual education sites.
• Don’t believe young people don’t want you to talk about it. It’s important to chat about the impact of porn and the negative effects it can have in a general sense. Ensure they know...