- Adolescents demonstrate a noticeable decrease in condom usage.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), young individuals in Europe are progressively less inclined to use condoms before sexual activity. The utilization of condoms among sexually active adolescents has significantly decreased since 2014, while the rate of unprotected sex is worrisomely high, as the WHO Regional Office for Europe revealed when presenting a recent report on this topic. This puts young people at a considerable risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, the organization cautioned.
The report, part of a larger health study focusing on youth, surveyed tens of thousands of 15-year-olds from 42 countries and regions in Europe, Central Asia, and Canada every four years between 2014 and 2022 concerning their sexual health. One of the findings: A significant number of sexually active respondents engaged in unprotected sex. The proportion of boys who reported using a condom during their last sexual encounter dropped from 70% in 2014 to 61% in 2022, and from 63% to 57% among girls. Nearly a third (30%) did not use either a condom or the pill during their last sexual encounter.
Average Condom Use Among German Youth, Pill Use Common
German youth are average in terms of condom usage, as indicated by the report. In 2022, 59% of sexually active boys and 58% of girls reported using a condom during their last sexual encounter, down from 72% and 68% respectively in 2014.
Contrasting most other countries, the pill appears to be more commonly used in Germany. Only 16% of girls and 23% of boys did not use either the pill or a condom in 2022. Austria and Switzerland ranked higher in this area.
Education as the Solution
The data indicates significant gaps in age-appropriate education and access to contraceptives, according to the WHO. WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge explained the report's shocking but predictable results: Age-appropriate sex education is often neglected in many countries, and where it exists, it has been criticized recently for allegedly promoting sexual behavior.
Comprehensive sex education is vital in empowering all young people to make informed decisions about sex during a particularly vulnerable period in their lives - the transition from youth to adulthood, asserted the report's lead author, András Költő of Galway University. Young people require not just information but also secure spaces to discuss topics such as consent, intimate relationships, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
The report highlights the need for improved sex education during the vulnerable period of transition from youth to adulthood, as comprehensively educating young people can empower them to make informed decisions about sexual health and safety. The lack of age-appropriate sex education, coupled with the criticism it often receives, contributes to the worrying trends observed in condom usage among European youth, as demonstrated by the decreasing numbers of sexually active individuals using protection.
