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Waiting for sex

Canadian teens are waiting longer and having safer sex than previous generations, an audience at a conference on sexuality heard earlier this week.

GUELPH, Ont. — Canadian teens are waiting longer and having safer sex than previous generations, an audience at a conference on sexuality heard earlier this week.

Elizabeth Saewyc, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, said the media and many adults perpetuate the idea that wild parties and reckless sex are rampant among Canadian teens.

“When it comes to teen sex, there’s a lot of buzz out there,” Saewyc said. “But the reality is that most teens today are sexually healthier than teens of a decade ago.”

The presentation Tuesday marked the official opening of the University of Guelph’s 32nd annual Sexuality Conference which was attended by about 100 academics, students, sex therapists and health-care workers.

Drawing on national, provincial and municipal surveys of teen sexual behaviour in Canada over the past 18 years, Saewyc said about 25 per cent of adolescents in high school have had sex — down from the 1992 rate and about the same as 1998.

Of those teens who are having sex, between 82 and 90 per cent use contraceptives and as many as one-third of them combine two different kinds of contraceptives for increased protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, Saewyc said.

Kathy Dunn, a nurse in London, Ont., said many sexual health professionals visit schools, post advertisements in public and open evening clinics to make sure they’re accessible to adolescents.

“Services and cost are big factors for a lot of people,” Dunn said after the presentation. She said contraceptives are becoming increasingly easy to access, and many of the services offered by sexual health clinics are free.

For public health manager Jacqueline Hart, who works in Huron County, one of the most important factors in healthy teen sexuality is the message young people get from their parents.

“It’s the parents’ duty and responsibility to speak to their child about sexuality,” Hart said after the presentation. “That’s where they want to get the information. They don’t want it from their peers because they know that’s not accurate.”

Saewyc, whose primary research focuses on coping and risk behaviours of marginalized youth, said it’s not clear exactly why teens are having safer sex now.

“It’s hard to tease out how much is economic, how much is education, and so on,” she said.

“In the big picture, we know that the number of teens having sex at a young age is down and that contraceptive use is up. That’s not going to happen without access and education.”

In the 10-year period leading up to 2008, teen pregnancy rates in Canada dropped by 36 per cent, a survey by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada revealed.

“A few years back it wasn’t uncommon to leave high school, get married and start a family. But most teens don’t see 22-year-olds with babies anymore, so that model has changed,” Saewyc said. “Most recognize that they need some kind of post-secondary education for their careers.”

Ultimately, Saewyc said teens fare best in their sexual decision making when they are supported by their families, friends and communities.

“Teens are savvy and responsible decision makers. Let’s give them credit and recognize that they are making responsible choices.”