Why teens are rejecting condoms
Young Kiwis are having more unprotected sex than at any time in the past two decades, and experts pin the ‘‘condom backlash’’ on patchy sexuality education, access to health services and pornography.
It’s not the news Dr Terryann Clark wants to deliver after 25 years of working in sexual health, but new data from New Zealand’s biggest survey of secondary school students is stark.
As-yet-unpublished data from the Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey of almost 7900 students suggests young people’s sexual health behaviour has worsened, and teenagers today are less likely to use contraceptives.
Just over half of teenagers now say they use any form of contraception, down from 62 per cent in 2001. Over the same time period, condom use dropped from 49 to 41 per cent.
‘‘ We’ve taken a leap backwards,’’ says Dr Clark, the study’s co-leader. ‘‘When it comes to sexual health, we’ve really failed.’’
The results come as experts call for schools to be held more accountable for providing highquality sexuality education, and those on the frontline saying Victorian attitudes towards sex prevent any meaningful change.
‘‘ If you’ve got a liberal progressive school that’s OK with teachers talking about pornography that’s fine, but some schools don’t even want a drug and alcohol policy because it will make them look bad,’’ says school guidance counsellor Sarah Maindonald, of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors.
‘‘And it’s challenging gender power dynamics, when you talk about pornography and sex a lot of them [schools] don’t even want to deal with it.’’
And those who work in sexual health say barriers remain. High-income and Pa¯keha¯ students find it easier to have safe sex.
‘‘We’ve had no meaningful funding increase in 10 years,’’ says Jackie Edmond, Family Planning chief executive. ‘‘I don’t know why anyone would think things would change.’’
A 2018 Education Review Office report found sexuality education had not improved in a decade, and only one-fifth of schools were doing an acceptable job. Sex education stubbornly revolved around biology.
And although the Ministry of Education has developed new sexuality guidelines, it would not answer questions about how individual schools’ delivery of the mandatory subject is monitored.
‘‘Our sex ed didn’t go into any kind of detail, they spent about 40 minutes talking about contraception but didn’t tell us where to find it, or what different kinds were available,’’ said Katie, 17, a student at a large girls’ school.
Her friend Oli, 16, added: ‘‘For a lot of us, it’s too late to learn that stuff. It needs to be done a lot earlier, like 13 or 14. And they don’t talk about real events, what actually happens. It’s like reading an instructional pamphlet, and it’s not enough.’’
The 2018 ERO report pinpointed Wellington High School as delivering excellent sexuality education. ‘‘Teachers started with asking parents, why is it so difficult to talk about sex?,’’ assessors wrote. They held regular wha¯nau hui to consult with parents, and encouraged diversity.
Senior health teacher Natalie Bell said she put a lot of work into creating a safe space for students to ask questions about sex and sexuality. ‘‘ I can’t just tell them what I think they should do, and what not to do, because they won’t listen. There’s no point teaching it like it used to be.’’
Instead, Bell’s classes canvass rights and responsibilities in relationships, arousal and pleasure, and identifying manipulation or abuse.
She details the various contraception, and makes it inclusive; it isn’t just about biological male and female intercourse.
‘‘There’s still so much stigma around sex and sexuality, and I can’t have that in the classroom.
‘‘I provide the information, so they are empowered to make informed choices for themselves. Some people wouldn’t even feel comfortable saying ‘I want to use a condom’, so that’s why we have conversations around assertiveness.’’
Fewer teens are sexually active – the most recent survey showed a drop from one third in 2001 to one fifth. Ministry of Health data showed the teenage pregnancy rate has fallen. Yet STIs are rising: 15- 24 year olds have the highest rate of chlamydia among any age group.
Clark said the ‘‘ chronic underfunding’’ of sexual and reproductive health by successive Governments meant barriers for many young people remained. Young Ma¯ori were 10 per cent less likely on average to use contraception than Pa¯keha¯.
‘‘When we looked at access in particular, we found only around 2.7 per cent of students had accessed family planning and sexual health clinics. They usually go to their GP, but that costs money, so they tend to be used by kids in high-income areas.’’
It was crucial for parents and teachers to talk to young people about relationships, she said.
‘‘I don’t think our boys have been taught to think about sexual health. These conversations are awkward and uncomfortable, and it’s often assumed it is going to be the girl who is asking about protection. It seems we have this oldfashioned, Victorian idea that it’s a woman’s role.’’
Jackie Edmond said clinics were struggling to meet demand, and cost and access to services was still a barrier for many clients. There were long waiting lists in some places, with those in small towns having to pay GPs to be seen.
Auckland University criminology researcher Dr Claire Meehan, who has spoken to 170 young people as part of her research into porn and sex, says some young women report being pressured into sex acts mainstreamed by pornography, including anal sex, choking and not using a condom.
‘‘ There is this backlash towards condom use, but we know they’re just as important as they’ve ever been. Generally you don’t see condoms in porn because they don’t look sexy – just like you don’t see consent in porn.’’
Ministry of Education acting deputy secretary for student achievement Pauline Cleaver said the ministry had last month released new sexuality education guidelines. It was working with the Classification Office to provide new resources on pornography.
The Ministry of Health did not respond by deadline.
‘‘For a lot of us, it’s too late to learn that stuff. It needs to be done a lot earlier, like 13 or 14. And they don’t talk about ... what actually happens.’’ 16-year-old student Oli