A report (by an official advisory body) said that sexual health services were at risk as a result of the structural changes being made in the National Health Service. It recommended that each primary care trust should have a public health specialist reviewing the sexual health needs of the population and advising the trust.
Source: Annual Report 2005-2006, Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV (Sexual_Health_IAG@dh.gsi.gov.uk)
Links: Links removed
Date: 2006-Dec
A report provided the first comprehensive regional comparison of sexual health in England. Over 70 indicators were included on a range of topics including: abortions; conceptions and births to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; access to family planning clinics; and information about lifestyles and attitudes.
Source: Wendi Slater (ed.), Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 6: Sexual Health, Association of Public Health Observatories (0191 3340398) and Health Protection Agency
Date: 2006-Nov
An article said that unplanned pregnancies might account for one-third of births in Scotland: 1 in 10 were totally unintended, while a quarter of women were ambivalent about their intention to get pregnant.
Source: Fatim Lakha and Anna Glasier, 'Unintended pregnancy and use of emergency contraception among a large cohort of women attending for antenatal care or abortion in Scotland', The Lancet, 18 November 2006
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Nov
A report (by an official advisory body) said that statutory sex education in schools was essential; and that family-planning clinics should be set up in places such as shops and sports halls, where youngsters could easily go for help and information.
Source: Annual Report 2005/06, Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy/Teenage Pregnancy Unit/Department for Education and Skills (mailto:Teenage.Pregnancy@dfes.gsi.gov.uk) Links: Report | TPU press release | FPA press release | Brook press release | SEF press release | Guardian report | Children Now report
Date: 2006-Sep
A report said that effective sex and relationships education in primary schools could help children build happier, healthier relationships, and could also contribute to reducing teenage pregnancy.
Source: Anna Martinez and Vanessa Cooper (eds.), Laying the Foundations: Sex and relationships education in primary schools, National Children s Bureau (020 7843 6029)
Links: NCB press release
Date: 2006-Sep
The government published a revised teenage pregnancy strategy. It said that all local authorities needed to come up to the standard of the best in bringing down teenage pregnancy rates. It also said that parents needed to be better engaged and supported to talk about sex and relationships with their children.
Source: Teenage Pregnancy: Accelerating the Strategy to 2010, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Strategy | DfES press release | Brook press release | YWCA press release | Young People Now report
Date: 2006-Sep
A report examined ethnic variations in sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours among teenage schoolchildren. 32 per cent of boys of black African origin did not use contraception when they first had sex, compared to 10 per cent of white British pupils and 18 per cent overall.
Source: Adrienne Testa and Lester Coleman, Sexual Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours among Black and Minority Ethnic Youth in London, Trust for the Study of Adolescence (01273 693311) and Naz Project London
Links: Summary | Observer report
Date: 2006-May
A survey found that 83 per cent of parents of school-age children thought that schools should teach young people about the emotional aspects of sex and relationships as well as the biological facts.
Source: Press release 23 May 2006, Sex Education Forum/National Children's Bureau (020 7843 6045)
Links: SEF press release | BBC report | TES report
Date: 2006-May
An article reported findings from an evaluation of a pilot programme set up to support school and community nurses in the delivery of personal, social and health education, including sex and relationships education, with young people. It said that these types of scheme were well received by community nurses.
Source: Helen Chalmers, 'Sex and relationships education in schools evaluation of a pilot programme for the certification of community nurses', Health Education Journal, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: No link provided
Date: 2006-Mar