Terrence Higgins Trust asked Labour and Conservative delegates at this year’s party conferences to complete a 10 question quiz on condoms.  Labour just managed to come out on top with their safer sex knowledge but both parties showed a worrying level of ignorance.

Results from the quiz, taken by 495 delegates, showed:

• A  third of Conservatives thought condoms had holes in them that could allow HIV to pass through, compared to a quarter of Labour delegates
• One in five Conservative delegates didn’t know how to put a condom on properly, compared to  around one in six Labour
• Less than one in five Conservatives got all ten questions correct, compared to just under a third of Labour delegates.  However, while Labour got more top scores, they also got more low scores
• One in five delegates at both conferences thought that using two condoms at once (“double bagging”) is safer than just using one.
• Eight delegates claimed to believe condoms could be washed and re-used!
   

Lisa Power, Head of Policy at Terrence Higgins Trust said “Like many of us, delegates at the party conferences seem to have got more of their sex education in the playground than the classroom.  With compulsory sex and relationships education missing from the core curriculum the situation with the next generation isn’t improving.  We want the Government to take action on this now, otherwise we have no hope of reducing the rises in sexually transmitted infections among young people.”

Terrence Higgins Trust has produced ’25 Things’ a publication which sets out 25 points which THT would like the Government to take action on. ‘Make sex and relationships education part of the core curriculum’ is one of these points. To find out more visit www.tht.org.uk

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