Storm over condoms for kids

Jan 29 2008 by Sarah Miloudi, Western Mail

GIVING young people free condoms in an attempt to cut teen pregnancy rates would encourage them to break the law, religious leaders said last night.

The warning came in reaction to a proposal from Rhondda MP Chris Bryant that free contraceptives should be issued to youngsters and that sex advice packs should be sent to parents.

But members of the Catholic Church said so far all the money ploughed into this area had “not made a difference,” and said the problem of teenage pregnancy was not one of education.

Instead, they want to see an emphasis placed on boosting youngster’s sense of worth, and say low self-belief is one of the key reasons youngsters start sexual relationships at an early age.

Britain currently has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, with five times as many youngsters falling pregnant here compared to Holland, and three times the number in France.

In order to meet the Government’s target of halving the rate of underage pregnancies by 2010, Mr Bryant wants to issue children with free contraception and send their parents sex advice packs as soon as their offspring reach their 11th birthdays.

But leaders in the church last night said giving youngsters free condoms would be “going against the law”, and warned it could encourage sexual relationships at an early age.

Monsignor Brian Kinrade of St Teilo’s in Tenby, said, “We would not support children being given condoms. That is going against the law and encouraging sexual relationships at an early age.

“It is a despairing response and is undermining what children are able to achieve.”

It is estimated there are 43.6 conceptions per 1,000 girls in Wales – a fact which Mgr Kinrade said was “a social problem” that could be induced by teenagers having a low sense of self worth, and a need to become part of an intimate relationship.

“The problem of teen pregnancy is not fundamentally an educational one, but one of children’s self worth and value,” he said.

“I think they want to have relationships far too early, and when I spent some time working in a school, I noticed a particular emphasis on having a boyfriend rather than spending time being together with others.”

Father John Owen, chaplain at Cardiff University, also said other solutions should be sought to the problem, and said teenage pregnancy rates in Wales were often linked to areas of deprivation, and cited South Wales Valleys communities as an example, where there are approximately 13 more pregnancies per 1,000 girls compared to other parts of Wales.

Some politicians supported Mr Bryant’s proposals.

Gill Francis, chair of the Government’s Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy, welcoming the idea of advice packs, saying “What kind of parent does not want good advice?”

However, Alun Cairns, the Assembly Government’s Shadow Education Minister said the proposals were “seeking to interfere” in the relationships between parents and their children.

Mr Cairns, AM for South Wales West said, “It is quite obvious Chris Bryant is missing the point. He is seeking the answer rather than the cause of the problem, and seeking to interfere in parents’ relationships with their children which is not the state’s responsibility.”

David Jones, MP for Clwyd West also criticised the proposals, and said although he felt Mr Bryant “means well” he was not approaching the problem in the correct way.

A second aspect of Bryant’s proposal was to house young mothers in sheltered accommodation, similar to housing complexes built for the elderly, and would include wardens and on-site doctors.

The Church in Wales runs similar accommodation units, but Gareth Foster, social responsibility officer for the Llandaff diocese in Cardiff, said there was a danger of “ghettoising” those living at the site, and that some mothers could find it difficult to secure alternative accommodation once their 18- month terms at the properties were over.

Proposals to build the complexes were also met with mixed opinions. Psychologist Linda Blair said in some instances these could give youngsters access to a support network they might otherwise miss out on. “Under some circumstances these women will have access to this support through antenatal classes, but not all of them do. In the past women grouped together to raise children, and what we have to remember is that this is a modern problem and not one we really had in the past.”

AM Helen Mary Jones said the sheltered housing accommodation could have its benefits, and some youngsters could gain from them.