Letter: What teenagers know about sex

From Mrs Suzanne Wilson

Sir: Does Peter Luff (letter, 26 January) really think that if 12- and 13-year-old girls are given no advice on sexual matters by an accurate source, they will not obtain it from somewhere else?

When I was in my teens, in the Seventies, I picked up all kinds of information about sex from school friends (naturally not the most reliable source), women's magazines, novels and parents. However, none of this information made my friends or I want to become sexually active immediately. In fact, it probably prevented us from making stupid mistakes.

The Dutch, and other similarly open-minded Europeans, have probably got it right and have fewer teenage pregnancies as a result. Keeping young people in the dark means they will probably end up making mistakes they will later regret.

Yours faithfully,

Suzanne Wilson

London, E9

26 January