Nearly six out of 10 young women who first had sex at the age of 16 have regrets and believe they “should have waited longer”, a Government-funded study has found.
"We need to equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to delay their first sexual experience" Katharine Bulbulia
The
Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationshipswas published by the Department of Health and the Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) today
The research found that 14.9 per cent of men and 7.9 per cent of women engaged in first sex when they were under 16 years old. A majority of the women in that group (59 per cent) and more than a third of the men (37 per cent) regretted it.
Some 16.6 per cent of men and 14.5 per cent of women engaged in first sex at the age of 16.
Of that group, some 43 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men expressed regret at the timing, saying they should have waited longer.
Nearly one third of men and a fifth of women in the 18 to 24 age group had sex before they were 17, the report says.
The research also found that those who had sex before 17 were only half as likely to use contraception at first sex, compared to those who waited until they were older.
Katharine Bulbulia, chair of the CPA said the research showed that the majority of young people wait until they are 17 years or older to have sex for the first time.
“However, for those who have had sex before 17, the research shows the impact of early first sex on the individual’s later sexual health and suggests that some young people are saying they are having first sex at a time in their lives that is not right for them.
“We need to equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to delay their first sexual experience.”
Ms Bulbulia said the CPA, in consultation with other organisations, will begin a campaign later this year to encourage adolescents to delay first sex.
International studies have found that use of contraception at first sex has a strong influence on subsequent behaviour, the CPA said.
It claimed women who had sex before 17 are almost 70 per cent more likely to experience a crisis pregnancy in later life and three times more likely to experience abortion in their lifetime than those who waited until they were older.