By Marjory Inglis, health reporter

OPEN DISCUSSION about sex does not drive young people to experiment, MSP Susan Deacon claimed at a conference in Dundee yesterday.

She said simply advocating abstinence without explanation had not worked in relation to drugs and other issues and there was no evidence it would work in relation to sex.

Ms Deacon, the former Scottish health minister, said young people were “bombarded” with sexual imagery and messages from the media. She called for a mature debate on sex and relationships and said conversations with young people had to be non-judgmental if young people were not to be turned away from involving themselves in such important conversations.

Chairing the Healthy Sexual Attitudes conference in the Apex Hotel, Ms Deacon said, “One of the clear messages from all the evidence and all the work done around this issue, particularly in relation to young people, is you have got to foster a climate where we can have measured and mature discussions about sex and relationships.”

She said it was important to remember that sexual health was not simply an issue for young people but for all ages. Growing up had always been difficult but today’s adolescents had to cope with much more than had previous generations.

For those who cared for young people and wanted to help them make informed choices, it was important to remember that young people could have knowledge without necessarily having understanding, so keeping the dialogue going between the generations was vital to give young people the support they needed to make informed choices.

“I think in this day and age young people are facing a particularly complex set of circumstances to navigate their way through, not least in relation to the sexual imagery and all the messages they are bombarded with on a daily basis by the media,” said Ms Deacon.

“For all we live in this highly sexualised society, we are clearly still not at ease talking about sex and relationships, be that in the home, in schools or the Parliament.

She continued, “It is sometimes suggested if we talk about sex more and increase the amount of sex and relationship education in schools, it somehow encourages young people to have sex and nothing could be further from the truth.

“The evidence is clear that if you create an environment where sex and relationships are discussed very openly and where you equip young people with more knowledge and confidence, then they are less, not more likely to have early sexual relationships.”

She said there was a need to offer emotional support as well as information to make informed choices.

“One of those choices may be to say no.

“We have recognised in other areas of public policy that simply telling young people to say no is not enough. It has not worked in relation to drugs education and there is nothing to suggest such an approach is any more effective but a huge amount to suggest it is very ineffective in relation to sex education.

“We are not going to be able to encourage young people to discuss these issues openly and to explore their emotions and anxieties and their physical health unless we can have these conversations in a non-judgmental way.

“That does not mean to say the conversations are value free. There is absolutely a need to discuss sex and relationships in the context of thinking about values and a key theme running through the conference is respect.”

The conference was arranged by Children in Scotland—an organisation of professional and voluntary organisations working with young people—and the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities.

Ms Deacon was chairing the event in her capacity as co-convener of the cross-party group on sexual health. More than 70 delegates attended from all over Scotland.