Clueless or Clued Up: Your Right to be informed about contraception

World Contraception Day 2011 World Contraception Day marks the launch of results from a new multi-national survey ‘Clueless or Clued Up: Your Right to be informed about contraception’. Results show that young people in Europe are experiencing problems accessing the information they need on contraception to make an informed decision about their sexual health. Data also shows that young people are still having unprotected sex with new partners and that widespread confusion remains surrounding which contraceptive methods are reliable and effective

The findings of the survey reveal the following…

42% of sexually active young people across Europe have had sex without contraception with a new partner¹.
The second most common reason given for having unprotected sex with a new partner was the respondents not liking contraception (14%).
Getting drunk and forgetting was given as a reason for not using contraception with a new partner.
28% of young women and 22% of young men surveyed stated that they have been told or obtained inaccurate or untrue information on contraception.
23% of young people cited feeling too embarrassed to ask about information on contraception
20% said that the fact their school does not provide a comfortable environment for asking questions about sex was a proven barrier to receiving accurate and unbiased information on the topic.
39% of young people do not receive sex education at school.
Fewer than half of the young people surveyed feel very well informed about the different contraceptive options available.

To help address the major issue of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), international NGOs including International Planned Parenthood Federation and European Society of Contraception speak out on World Contraception Day to defend young people’s right to access accurate and unbiased information on contraception.

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^{1. Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. Data on file. Talking Sex and Contraception Survey. Fieldwork carried out by TNS Healthcare. July 2009}

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