Around the Globe, More Youths Having Unsafe Sex

Unprotected sex is on the rise among the world’s young people, while their knowledge of contraceptives has decreased, a survey finds. Compared to three years ago, the number of youths having unsafe sex with a new partner jumped 111% in France, 39% in the US, and 19% in the UK, Reuters reports. The Bayer-commissioned survey, backed by 11 NGOs, gathered data from 6,000 respondents between ages 15 and 24 across 26 countries (Egyptian respondents were 22 to 30, and married). Among its more interesting findings:

• While three-quarters of Latin American, Asia Pacific, and US students have sex education in school, only half of European students receive it.
• Young people in China, Singapore, and India could name about 2.8 kinds of contraception; youth in Colombia could name 7.1.
• In Egypt, 36% of respondents said bathing or showering after sex prevents pregnancy.
• In China, 50% of respondents said they are too embarrassed to ask healthcare professionals for contraception advice.

“What young people are telling us is that they are not receiving enough sex education or the wrong type of information about sex and sexuality”—and that’s no big surprise, said a rep for the International Planned Parenthood Federation. (More unprotected sex stories.)