Sugar,
Britain’s bestselling teen magazine, has launched a campaign against
underage sex following the Government’s decision to encourage the use
of teen titles as sex education tools in schools.
The SAFE
campaign aims to make sure teens are “sure of the facts, age 16 or
over, free from pressure and emotionally sorted” before they decide to
start a sexual relationship.
A Sugar web poll found that a third of readers had felt pressured to have sex.
Earlier
this month, the Government’s Qualifications & Curriculum Authority
said teachers should use teen titles in class to help teenagers discuss
their problems – a change of approach from that of recent years, in
which teaching authorities have condemned the magazines for encouraging
sex at too early an age.
Editor Annabel Brog said: “We are aware
of the pressures our readers are under to have sex before they are
emotionally, physically or legally ready to do so and really want to
encourage them to wait. But we know that lecturing them, forbidding
them or simply telling them it’s illegal will not be a deterrent, but
is more likely to make them act and then regret it in secret.”
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