CarnalNation

A new Irish website has been launched to promote healthy choices and provide accurate, non-judgmental information to young people who are considering having sex. The site, B4UDecide.com, offers “the facts without the lecture” and is designed “to give young people the information they need to make informed decisions for themselves before they have sex for the first time.”

The online resource centre was created by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA), whose previous large-scale research with Irish teens found that they lack the information and skills to manage the intense pressures related to sexuality and adolescence. Though the website focuses heavily on abstinence, it does offer some information on contraception and non-judgmental options for unplanned pregnancy counselling.

The website also offers short videos featuring real teens, counsellors and researchers taking about various issues from attractiveness, kissing, peer pressure, postponing sex and contraception. Its section on age of consent laws explains that the age of consent for vaginal or anal sex is 17 for both males and females, but females under the age of 17 cannot be prosecuted for having sex while underage. Males, on the other hand, can be prosecuted for having sex before turning 17 as well as for “defilement” which involves having sex with an underage female.

Though the language of the website may be overwhelmingly cautionary and there is no acknowledgment or discussion of sexual pleasure, B4UDecide.com is a work-in-progress. They solicit suggestions for improvement and can be reached at improvements@b4udecide.ie.