Artificial contraception empowers girls and women, it allows for us women to plan our lives and to control the number and spacing of our children. However only condoms prevent sexually transmitted infections and diseases that are rampant in Malta. I believe that in Malta we still don’t give enough importance to contraception, especially to condoms and we do not discuss the fact that condoms are still not widely used by many boys and men in Malta.
In fact, statistics show that 75% of Maltese sexually active people do not use condoms. Very worrying too is the recent study by the World Health Organisation called the Health Behaviours in School Children known as the HBSC report, reporting that 43% of 15-year-old males did not use condoms and 61% of females of the same age did not use the oral contraceptive pill during their most recent sexual intercourse experience. Both young boys and girls should be using contraception to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI). This is especially evident because Malta has one of the highest teen birth rates in Europe. We don’t know the teen pregnancy rate because Malta does not register pregnancies but only births of babies born after 23 weeks gestation. Unplanned pregnancy is also high in Europe and calculated to be around 43% of all pregnancies. Therefore, although many women in Malta know about contraception and use it, and contraception is being discussed at school, there seems to still be an unmet need of contraception usage and many unplanned pregnancies. The unintended pregnancy rate for Malta is not known. These statistics should be very worrying to parents.
As parents we need to ensure we are discussing these issues with our boys and girls, most especially condom usage with our boys, since they are the ones that are able to prevent the spread of many sexually transmitted infections and diseases, and because they are the ones that need to put the condom on themselves. Boys should be given condoms and if necessary, shown how to use them as soon as they start going out and start dating. No matter whether a girl or woman is on the pill or other form of contraception, boys and men still need to use condoms too, not only as extra contraception to prevent an unintended pregnancy but also to prevent the spread of diseases. Boys and men have a big responsibility towards having safe sex, especially in a country like Malta where abortion is illegal.
As parents, we need to remind our boys at every opportunity that they too can catch and transmit STIs and that it takes only one time without using a condom to make a girl, woman or any person with a uterus pregnant. Our girls should also be using some form of artificial contraception, either the pill, a female condom, or an intrauterine device or other forms of non-hormonal contraception (see picture). If we want to prevent unplanned pregnancies and to limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections our doctors, healthcare workers, health care providers need to discuss with parents and/or with their young patients what contraception they are using and remind them the importance of using condoms. I am surprised that our health authorities have not embarked on a “use a condom” campaign for many years and nowhere have I ever seen a poster or advert from our health department promoting condom usage. Possibly this was due to the Church’s influence, all artificial contraception even condoms go against the Catholic Church’s teachings.
I believe that contraception usage and awareness is even more important to prevent pregnancy especially in a country like Malta where abortion is illegal. As parents we need to move away from the idea that has been implanted in our minds that contraception promotes promiscuity or that talking about it and discussing it with our children will give them the idea that we “allow” them to have sex, they will have sex anyway, its best for their health and wellbeing that they to do it safely. The negative repercussions of sexually transmitted diseases (many can lead to cancer or infertility) and unintended pregnancies can be way too devastating on our children’s lives to ignore.
If we truly love our children, we need to empower them with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to be able to enjoy sex safely. Contraception allows them to do that.
Discuss your personal contraception needs or those of your adolescent children with your doctor at your next visit and give your youths a packet of condoms on their way out this weekend. To our health authorities I would love to see you embark on a contraception awareness campaign right away and also consider providing free contraception to young people of reproductive age.
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Francesca Fenech Conti is passionate about social issues and has a BA in Social Policy. She is the Founder and creator of the women only facebook group Women for Women (Malta) and the Women for Women Foundation that works hand in hand with other NGOs and businesses to empower and support women, especially single mothers.
Francesca recently also launched Wham.com.mt to provide a much needed space on the local media scene to promote women’s voices and to provide women with a source of information regarding their general wellbeing.
Click here to check out Francesca’s full bio as well as a list of all her Wham published articles
