Ladies, Let's Hear It!

Former Member

Some thought-provoking stats you might want to be aware of:

:no: The UK has the highest teenage birth and abortion rates in Western Europe.

:no: The lowest levels of contraceptive use are found in the 16-19 age group.

:no: The highest rates of sexually transmitted infections are among those aged 15-24.

:no: Those under 25 accounted for 63% of all new chlamydia diagnoses in 2014.

Find more stats here and here.

O-k, Ladies, now let's get (in)formation...

An eye-opening report recently published by The Lancet shows that two-thirds of young people are growing up in countries where preventable and treatable health problems like HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, unsafe sex, and a host of other maladies are an ongoing threat to health and well-being.

And! If things weren't dismal enough, the fastest-growing risk factor for ill health in young people aged 10-24, over the past 23 years, is unsafe sex, the Commission reports.


When things are gettin' hot and heavy, and it's about to go down, how do you handle the protection question? Do you leave it up to the lad to supply the contraceptive goods? Or are you a pro-active lady and pack your own protection?

Former Member

Hi Bouvier,

Interesting topic, as well as very shocking to see those statistics :chin: You wouldn't expect those stats from countries where there is prevention and treatment for unsafe sex, HIV, etc. I've met guys that were totally clueless about having unsafe sex and its consequences, their lack of knowledge was quite scary, as you would expect them to be informed and responsible enough before having sex. I have popped the protection question over at the start of any sexual activity, and thats when most of them were making up excuses for not wearing it. I used to go to the local GUM clinic to get free condoms.

Former Member

Why is the rate of teenage pregnancy in the UK much higher than that in the rest of W Europe? How is the culture, mindset etc. different in the UK compared to in France, Germany etc.? Is their sex education significantly better than ours? Is there a stigma on the Continent to being a teenage single mother? Is our binge-drinking a major contributory factor?

Former Member

I think the main reason is that in the UK if you get pregnant when you are you are young, you can get benefits to help you with the costs of having a child. In italy for example there are no benefits at all. In Italy there is a stigma about being a teen mother, because we are a patriarchal society. I don t think binge drinking is a major contributory factor, some people are just reckless.

Former Member

I believe that most countries in S Europe have a stigma to being a young single mother, but I don't think that's the case in Germany, Benelux or the Nordic countries.

I mentioned binge-drinking because that's common among British youth, but not among Continental Europeans. Unplanned pregnancy is much more likely when drunk.