World Contraception Day 2011 marks the launch of results from a new multinational survey Clueless or Clued up: Your Right to be informed about contraception[i]. 6,000 young people from 29 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America and the USA took part in this survey, the third in a series of annual multi-national surveys exploring young people’s attitudes to sex and contraception.

According to findings, 42% of sexually active young people across Europe have had sex without contraception with a new partner.

Another important fact is that young people report barriers affecting their right to obtain trustworthy information about sex and contraception.

On average,  only half of young people surveyed across Europe (55 %) receive sex education in school compared to three quarters across Latin America (78%), Asia Pacific (76%) and the USA (74%).

Fewer than half of the young people surveyed feel very well informed about the different contraceptive options available. Young people in France (60%) are more likely than those in the rest of Europe to feel very well informed and those in Lithuania (23%) are least likely to feel very well informed.

28% of respondents in Europe who could not get hold of contraception when they needed it claim it was because they were too embarrassed to ask a healthcare professional. 20% of young people across Europe said that their school does not provide a comfortable environment for questions on sexuality and intimacy.

This year’s World Contraception Day, under the motto ‘Live your Life, Know your Rights. Learn about Contraception’, focuses on the right of young people to access accurate and unbiased information about contraception in order to prevent an unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection (STI).

IPPF European Network is particularly concerned about the various barriers in access to modern contraception.  

According to State of the World Population (SWOP) report 2010, the usage rates for modern contraceptive methods are alarmingly low in many countries of the Eastern Europe-Central Asia region. In five countries of the region (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Serbia) this rate is below the average for developing countries.

In Albania, for example, 59% of women rely on traditional methods of contraception to delay a pregnancy while only 10% use modern methods (SWOP 2010). This figure is alarmingly high in many countries, including EU Member States such as Bulgaria and Romania.

Women do not use modern methods of contraception for several reasons: incorrect information, poor counselling, high cost, and crucially, a lack of choice and unreliable supply of contraceptives.

Check out the World Contraception Day website www.your-life.com for more information on WCD and for a wide range of youth friendly information on sex and relationships, blogs from around the world and interactive games and competitions.

Or download this useful World Contraception Day guide All About Contraception, for information on contraceptive choices, contraceptive myths and realities, and how to talk about sex and contraception to medical professionals and your partner.

World Contraception Day is supported by a coalition of 11 international NGOs, scientific and medical societies, including IPPF.