Too much, too young?

A new resource gives advice on sex to Transition Year girls, and shows why it's better to wait before becoming sexually active, writes PETER McGUIRE

SEX IS too often shrouded in myth and mystery. A woman can’t get pregnant if she has sex on top; once you catch a sexually transmitted infection (STI) you can’t catch it again; you can’t get pregnant during your period: all stories widely circulated among teenagers, all untrue.

Young people often receive inaccurate information about sex, disease and pregnancy. Holly Railton and Laura McLoughlin are peer educators with The Real Deal, a new Transition Year programme which aims to arm girls with the facts about sex and pregnancy. The programme was devised by a group of peer educators with first-hand experience of teen pregnancy, under the supervision of the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme.

Railton was 18 when she had her first child, who is now aged eight. McLoughlin had her son, also aged eight, when she was just 16. “I thought I was in a steady relationship, but it just didn’t work out,” says Railton. “I love and adore my children, but I just wish I’d had them a little bit later in life. You should live life before you give life.”

Now a single mother with two children, Railton is determined that both her children and the girls she works with will not repeat her mistakes.

“Sometimes the girls think it’s easy and that they will get all this money. They’re not seeing it as it is: really hard, with rent, bills, and food eating up your income. When you have children at such a young age, you have to watch your friends in their 20s travelling, having good jobs and cars, going out at the weekend. When you have two children this isn’t really an option.”

McLoughlin got involved with The Real Deal because she saw a golden opportunity to inform, not lecture, teenage girls. “I remember sex education in school,” she says. “An older woman came in and provided us with the most basic information. ‘These are your ovaries, this is what a period is.’ It went right over my head; all I can remember is what she looked like. I wish there had been a programme like this when I was in school. There needs to be a focus on prevention, like there should have been with the recession: we spent and spent and spent and now have to deal with the consequences and pay the price.

“For so long, the Catholic church suppressed sexuality. Now things may have gone too far the other way. The Real Deal is a programme about awareness and giving information to the girls so they can make their own choices, and hopefully spread that message to their friends.”

Two peer educators work with the TY groups. Over a full day, they undertake a session on self-esteem, talk about the reproductive system of men and women to the girls, explore how drugs and alcohol can lower inhibitions and lead to sex, and discuss everything from oral to penetrative sex, encouraging the students to be fully aware of the consequences of their actions. They also tell their own story and how it impacted on their lives.

AS PART OF the programme, the girls receive a book with information on everything from relationships to menstrual cycles and STIs. The book includes graphic images of genital infections from herpes to genital warts; these shocking images are aimed at showing them the potential consequences of their decision.

The programme, however, is not intended to scare girls. “We’re not telling them not to have kids, or not to have sex,” says Railton. “We’re just advising them how hard it is, and how hard it’s been for us, and making sure they’re armed with all the knowledge to make the decision that’s right for them.”

Linzi, a 15-year-old student at Presentation Convent, Kildare, took part in the programme with her classmates earlier this year.

“I thought the programme was really good, and you learned so much. The best thing was that the peer educators had first-hand experience.”

Many of the girls in Linzi’s class have already had sex, while some girls in the year above her are already mothers.

“It’s hard on them because they’re too young,” she says. “You have to be ready for it and know the consequences of your actions.”

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