Learning about safer sex in Eastern Europe: younger is better

PRoach

How can you tell if someone needs more sex and relationships education?

The age at which sex education is first received determines to what extent a person will feel the need for further sex education later in life.

This is amongst the findings of, ‘Sex and Relationships Education: Assessing the Gaps for Eastern European Youth’, the fourth in the Durex Network’s Face of Global Sex research series.

The report is available online at www.durexnetwork.org/en-GB/research/faceofglobalsex.  

 

The research measures the main factors influencing the perceived need for more sex and relationships education in young people from seven countries in Eastern Europe through the analysis of a survey. More than 10,000 14 to 22 year-olds from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia took part.  

 

Other findings include: 

 

  • Sources consulted for information on sexual health and the perceived importance of regular sexual health checks have an influence on the need for further sex and relationships education. 

 

  • Those who have received sex and relationships education from school teachers and healthcare professionals are less likely to feel the need for further education. 

 

  • Those who think regular sexual health checks are important are more likely to feel the need for further sex and relationships education.

 

  • The country where a person lives has a strong influence on their likelihood to feel the need for further sex and relationships education.  

 

This new report looks at the perceived needs of young Eastern Europeans for further sex and relationships education, which we found to be a good indicator of the importance of bridging information gaps when it comes to sexual health.   

 

Through this study, the Durex Network further explores findings from previous Face of Global Sex reports which highlighted that sexual health information and education have a consistently positive effect on attitudes to sex.  

 

As we dig deeper into key sexual health issues, we are beginning to build a clear picture of some of the problems that are recurrent in many countries in terms of prevention and education, and we hope this can help inform the global public health response.