Peter Cuthbertson wrote yesterday here about Chris Bryant's 'radical' proposal which will cause an 'avalanche of praise' from across Westminster. The 'new' idea? To hand out condoms to 10 year olds as the solutions to teenage pregnancy.
I'm all for radical ideas, but call me a stickler; I'd like to suggest that solutions need to be evidence based. And the evidence is that, as reported here , more available contraception has made teenage pregnancy worse in the UK. Not only that, but let's be truthful - condoms only reduce the risk of pregancy and sexually transmitted diseases, they are not infallible.
My radical idea is this: let's protect children from premature decisions, pressures and consequences. Let's protect them from the destructiveness of early and experimental sexual experiences. Let's allow them, through on going SRE in secondary school to develop the emotional intelligence to be able to handle relationships and adult issues. And, oh my gosh, this is radical, let's follow the Dutch example of involving the parents and family in sex education. Their evidence? The lowest rate of teen pregnancy in Europe.
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