Strong Local Voice, Strong Local Champion

Westminster Hall Debate - Sex Education

Annette Brooke (Mid-Dorset and North Poole) (LD): I congratulate the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) on securing this debate. However, I do not like the title, which is not a good starting point. I believe that we should never talk about sex and relationships, but always about sex and relationship education. The two must go together.

At times during the hon. Gentleman's speech, I felt that I was living in a parallel universe, but I agree with some aspects of what he said. I am passionate about supporting the family, whatever shape or size it is. Family stability and loving relationships within the family are so important, and I certainly value the aspect of a family sitting around the table and dining together. On that point, the hon. Gentleman and I do not differ.

I, too, refer to some of the stark facts. I start with teenage pregnancy rates. The United Kingdom has the highest teenage birth and abortion rates in Europe. Rates of teenage births here are six times those in the Netherlands, nearly three times those in France and more than twice those in Germany. I have said before that the Government are to be congratulated on having a teenage pregnancy strategy, which seeks to tackle the causes and the consequences of teenage pregnancy. Teenage conception rates have fallen to their lowest level for 20 years, but we have a long way to go.

Until last month, the Government had resisted a commitment to make personal, social and health education, including sex and relationship education, a compulsory part of the national curriculum. I have raised this cause at every possible opportunity since being elected. Education must be a vital part of the teenage pregnancy strategy, and I welcome the Government's conversion, at long last.

I was extremely distressed when the latest abortion figures were published. In Britain, the number of abortions performed on under-16s rose by 10 per cent. last year to 4,376. For under-14s, there has been a 21 per cent. increase, and half of all pregnancies in under-18s end in abortion. I am not an anti-abortionist, but having an abortion at such a young age cannot be a good start to life. We need more information on sexually transmitted infections. We cannot allow young people to remain in ignorance. Every statistic on most sexually transmitted infections shows that we have the highest diagnosis rate among women aged 16 to 19. Indeed, 12 per cent. of women in that age group are infected with Chlamydia.

Today's question is: cause and effect-which way around? Obviously I do not support the argument that sex education has led to the current situation. We have not had adequate sex and relationship education in this country, but of course other factors are at play. However, the key is quality sex and relationship education by trained teachers who wish to do it. We also need to involve other professionals and young people.

To counter the points made by the hon. Member for Shipley, we need look no further than the United Kingdom Youth Parliament survey, which throws light on the causal relationship. Twenty two thousand teenagers were surveyed, more than 70 per cent. of whom rated the teaching of sex education in school as poor, very poor or merely average, while only a quarter said that it was good. Furthermore, nearly half said that they had never been taught about the effects of teenage pregnancy and

would not know where to find their local sexual health clinic. The survey also revealed that 55 per cent. of all 12 to 15-year-olds, and 57 per cent. of girls between 16 and 17, had not been taught how to use a condom, despite a Government recommendation on that issue.

Overall, 55 per cent. of respondents said that they had been taught about teenage pregnancy, leaving just less than half who had not. Many of the young people to whom UKYP spoke while carrying out the survey felt that they knew about how having a baby could impact on their lives, but knew little about the development of a baby in the womb and about the impact that pregnancy could have on their bodies. Most alarmingly, as has already been alluded to, 61 per cent. of boys and 70 per cent. of girls over the age of 17, and 43 per cent. of all the children surveyed, reported having not received any information at school about personal relationships.

A study earlier this year by UNICEF, and further work by the National Children's Bureau and the Sex Education Forum, reinforce those points. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has also produced some very interesting material. A snapshot of calls to ChildLine in May 2008 showed that nearly 50 children a day call because they feel under pressure to have sex or lack basic knowledge about sexual health, relationships, pregnancy and puberty. Children as young as 12 call to talk to a counsellor because they are worried that they might be pregnant and lack the facts about safer sex, sexual relationships and peer pressure. Some girls say that they feel pressurised into having sex before they are ready.

Those callers to ChildLine, like the rest of us, live in a highly sexualised culture and are influenced by media and marketing, but they are not being equipped to deal with the pressures. Alcohol also comes into the equation. Young people sometimes use alcohol to cope and become more vulnerable as a result. Their lives are complex, and they need knowledge, advice and support to help them to avoid engaging in sexual activity that they later regret.

I declare that I am an ambassador for the NSPCC and the views that I shall put forward are not only those of the NSPCC, but very strongly mine. Children need to learn from an early age about appropriate behaviour and how to stay safe in relationships. PSHE needs to receive dedicated teaching time to enable teachers to use different strategies to help children and young people to develop the necessary skills. That should help young people to build their self-esteem and make informed choices in later life. Children and young people should be given the opportunity to gain some understanding about abuses of power and inappropriate and dangerous relationships, and learn what support is available. They need to understand why it is not appropriate to tolerate abuses of power within a relationship, and should be given clear examples of such behaviour, such as child abuse, rape and domestic abuse.

I believe passionately that sex and relationship education should begin at five. Much has been made in the press about sex education for five-year-olds-"condoms for five-year-olds!"-but I shall explain why I believe that it should start at age five. During deliberations on the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the police parliamentary scheme, in which I participated-I spent time with the Metropolitan police's child protection unit-I learned a great deal about things that I did not know even happened.

For example, a child living in an abnormal family does not know that they are living in abnormal circumstances, because they do not have a yardstick by which to measure normality. I came across an example of a child brought up in a household where pornographic material was being made and assembled. That child went out into the street and engaged in a sexual activity with a dog. I rest my case! We need appropriate education at five describing what normal touching is and what normal relationships are.

As education progresses we must emphasise qualities within relationships, such as self-esteem, self-respect, respect for others, honesty, choice and so on. We must give young people the ability to make their own choices and have the confidence to say "no". I have some more examples: one 16-year-old boy told ChildLine that he had had unprotected sex with a girl for a dare and was now concerned that he might have caught a disease. A 14-year-old girl said that her boyfriend wanted to have sex with her, but that she did not know how to do it. Another young girl rang to say that she was worried that she was pregnant after she did not dare to say "no" to sex with her boyfriend in case he dumped her.

We must not underestimate the importance of those points. Members will gather that I have been passionate about this issue for a long time. However, the answer is not just sex and relationship education, but in the whole PSHE programme. A range of health issues must be taught relative to age, maturity and understanding, including emotional and health well-being, diet and exercise, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, careers and safety. Sex and relationship education is just one part of that-but never should it be just sex education, without the "relationship".

Working with parents is vital. I would not imagine such education being introduced without full parental consultation. Schools should run individual schemes. Work force training is also vital, because no teacher should have to teach a subject on which they are not confident. Furthermore, we must make full use of professionals and young people. I commend the Government on setting up the committee. It delays the introduction of that sort of education, but this time they are right, because it will ensure that the content and any exemptions are firmly discussed.