BMJ 2002;325:600 ( 14 September )

Letters

Parents are an untapped resource in sex education

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---It is almost 20 years since Victoria Gillick tried to force doctors to obtain parental consent before treating children. Paradoxically her legacy was to remove any parental role in the provision of contraception for young people.

Britain now has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe and the second highest in the world. Government led attempts to reduce it have focused on endless teenage initiatives, providing ready access to free contraception and advice.1 The latest announcement of free condoms available through schools is another variation on the same theme and will surely contribute insignificantly.2 In a study in Nottingham many teenagers who became pregnant had sought contraceptive services in the preceding 12 months.3 Hence, contraceptive failure is as significant a factor as simple access to contraception.

A sea change in parental attitude has occurred in the last generation: a whole generation of parents has become tolerant about the depiction of . . . [Full text of this article]
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Limits of teacher delivered sex education: interim behavioural outcomes from randomised trial
Daniel Wight, Gillian M Raab, Marion Henderson, Charles Abraham, Katie Buston, Graham Hart, and Sue Scott
BMJ 2002 324: 1430. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Teenage pregnancy
Lisa Arai, et al.
bmj.com, 14 Sep 2002 [Full text]
Is parental participation in sex education enough?
Chan C. Y. Zenobia
bmj.com, 19 Sep 2002 [Full text]
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