Northern Ireland needs 'better sex education'

November 17, 2000

More cash and reforms are needed to improve sex education for young people in Northern Ireland, according to an Ulster University academic.

Dorothy Whittington, a health psychologist, said that teenage pregnancy in Northern Ireland was under-researched and that the provision of advice and guidance services was patchy.

Professor Whittington said: "We need a more effective system that is uniformly delivered to young people across the province. Present provision of sex education and parenthood guidance - while containing elements of very good practice - is very uneven. We need to ensure that parenthood is planned, rather than being a crisis in a young person's life."

The university held a conference into teenage pregnancy earlier this month.

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