Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526669
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 SEPTEMBER 2024 NEWS Substantial proportion of sexually active young CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 While only 40% of 15-year- old girls reported using a con- dom during their last inter- course, that percentage rises to 62% among males. MaltaToday compared the re- sults of the latest HBSC report with similar surveys conducted in 2014 and 2018, revealing a decrease in sexual activity par- ticularly among boys, and an overall increase in the use of contraception. But the high incidence of un- protected sexual activity adds urgency to calls for an update to Malta's outdated sexual health policy – which is still being drafted. Girls report lower use of condoms The comparison shows that the percentage of 15-year-old boys who reported having sex decreased from 25% in 2014 and 2018 to 17% in 2022. How- ever, the percentage who re- ported using a condom during their last sexual intercourse increased from 41% in 2014 to 62% in 2022. In contrast, the percentage of girls of the same age having sex has remained the same as five years ago (15%), but down from 19% ten years ago; while the percentage who reported using the contraceptive pill during their last sexual experi- ence shot up from 6% in 2018, to 25% in 2022. The percentage of girls reporting condom use during their last sexual inter- course increased from 33% in 2018 to 40% in 2022 but re- mains a percentage point lower than in 2014. The 2022 survey shows that 53% of sexually active 15-year- old girls and 28% of boys of the same age reported that they or their partner did not use a condom during their last sexu- al intercourse. Moreover, 10% of boys and 6% of girls could not recall whether they or their partner had used a condom on the same occasion. Additionally, 40% of girls and 28% of boys reported not us- ing either a condom or a con- traceptive pill during their last sexual intercourse. How Malta compares to others The study shows that the per- centage of Maltese 15-year-old girls having sex tallies with the average in the 42 countries sur- veyed by HBSC (15%), while boys (17%) are having less sex than the international average of 20%. But while the percentage of sexually active boys using a condom is slightly above the international average (62% vs 61%), the percentage of sexu- ally active girls using condoms is far below the internation- al average (40% vs 57%). This might suggest that the use of condoms in Malta remains a greater taboo among females. The percentage of females who neither used a condom or the contraceptive pill during the last time they had sex is al- so nine points higher than the international average of 40%. The percentage of boys hav- ing sex in Malta (17%) is slight- ly lower than that in Italy and Germany (19%), Spain and Sweden (20%), and Denmark