A report issued by the World Health Organization shows that teens around the world are using fewer condoms when they have sex than they have in the past, with one-third of European adolescents straight-up refusing to use condoms.
The study surveyed 242,000 15-year-olds in 42 countries between 2004 and 2022. They found that condom use among sexually active teens went from 70% down to 61% for boys and from 63% to 57% for girls. You have to wonder if these teenagers think it’s weird that they’re getting STDs and unwanted pregnancies and if there’s anything that could prevent all that from happening. Because there is! it only costs a few dollars at the drugstore, or free if you take them from your stepdad’s nightstand.
In the United States, multiple studies have shown that condom use among high schoolers has declined, down from 63% in 2003 to 54% in 2019—so this is not just a European trend. The CDC has said that teen sex in America is on the decline, but the WHO said its reports of teenage sexual activity have actually remained stable—it’s just the condom use that has dramatically decreased. The report says some of the sharpest decreases are in the UK, particularly Scotland and Wales.
Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, says this is all largely due to faulty sexual education and the outright resistance of such educational programs in some parts of the world. He argues that sexual education does not lead to increased sexual activity but rather smarter sexual activity. Teenagers are going to be fucking regardless, so might as well make sure we teach them how to do it safely—and provide easy access to contraceptives.
It’s no wonder that according to the report, STIs have been on the rise across Europe. Syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea can be easily prevented if you just bagged it up, boys.
The post Teen Condom Use Is Dropping Worldwide Despite Rising STI Rates, Says WHO appeared first on VICE.
The post Teen Condom Use Is Dropping Worldwide Despite Rising STI Rates, Says WHO appeared first on VICE.
