Delay
Delay is ……
• Supporting young people to make choices about sex that feel right for them and helping them to decide when they are really ready.
| • Giving young people the skills to say ‘no’ to pressure they come under to have sex for example from peers, the media and cultural assumptions.
• Ensuring that all young people have access to excellent SRE • Giving young people friendship skills so that they can meet many of their social and emotional needs through friends rather than looking to sex to deliver this. |
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• Balancing messages that it’s fine to delay sex until it’s a positive decision with good, accurate information and the skills to negotiate sex when they do choose to take this step-and being positive about intimacy, sex and pleasure.
• Discussing with young people what makes a good relationship and how to explore non-sexual ways of being intimate and close to someone.
• Understanding that many young people will we work with will not be having sex. The majority under 16 will won’t, and some won’t be happy with the sex they are having.
• Being clear that it is relevant to all young people- heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual and those questioning their sexuality.
• Putting across the message that sex isn’t a treadmill- you can get off.
• Alongside all this, providing excellent high quality sexual health services and support which enable young people to access condoms, contraception, emergency contraception, choices around pregnancy ,and support for choices about sexuality- as well as a place to talk confidentially about relationships, sex and getting support for saying ‘no’ to unwanted sex.
• Abstinence is about no sex outside of marriage- delay is about enabling young people to know for themselves when they are ready for sex.
Copyright: Jo Adams