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Giving out condoms in schools 'doesn't encourage students to have more sexual partners'
Making condoms available to pupils at school could reduce rates of sexually transmitted infections, however.
The review found that giving out condoms in secondary schools doesn’t make teenagers have sex earlier or have more sex.
It does reduce STI rates, but it doesn’t reduce teenage pregnancy, suggesting that perhaps other forms of contraception should be more readily available, too.
The Guardian reports the research found that once condoms are available in schools, students do actually use them, which improves general sexual health among the age group.
A common refrain from celibacy education advocates is that by giving students condoms, adults are encouraging them to have sex earlier.
This study suggests the opposite, finding that in some cases, students with access to condoms at school reported having fewer sexual partners.
Plus, the sex they did have was more likely to be safe – which can only be a good thing.
Researchers hope that their findings will encourage more schools to have condoms readily available, particularly in areas where rates of HIV and teenage pregnancies are high.
But they’re quick to state that making a change isn’t as simple as putting a bucket of condoms outside the nurse’s office.
It’s important to couple the provision of condoms with proper sex education that covers all areas of contraception, pregnancy, and STIs.
Wallets and pockets are awful places for condoms to be stored thanks to friction and high temperature.
‘Heat, moisture, friction and light can affect the quality of condoms and make them less effective,’ Karin O’Sullivan, clinical lead at sexual health charity FPA, tells Metro.co.uk.
Pockets and wallets, nestled close to your body and its heat, tend to be warm.
They also jostle around when you walk, adding friction to the mix. This makes condoms weaker and more likely to tear.