One in five young people who have visited a sexual health service rated the experience as 'bad’ or ‘very bad’ and the majority of young people don’t know where to go for trusted information on sexual health, according to research commissioned by UNICEF UK and Terrence Higgins.

Young people have the right to be heard and have their opinions listened to. But this can be difficult when tackling tricky subjects like sexual health. The new research tries to find out what young people really think about sex and sexual health services.

Over 500 young people - the majority aged between 12 and 24 years - completed an online survey as part of the research, with a smaller group of selected individuals taking part in in-depth interviews. The results are published in a new paper ‘Sexual Health, Rights and Staying Safe’.

"While we recognise the Government’s increased spending to improve the sexual health of young people in the UK, its clear from our research that young people themselves want and need better access to the information and services that will help them prevent sexually transmitted infections," UNICEF UK’s Chief Executive David Bull says.

UNICEF UK and Terrence Higgins Trust are giving young people the opportunity to take action on this issue. They can send an email to their local councillor and MP, encouraging them to work towards ensuring that local sexual health services are accessible to young people.

In 2005, the Department of Health launched ‘You’re Welcome’, a set of criteria that health services can work towards to make sure they are more youth friendly. Although ’You’re Welcome’ does not address concerns such as waiting times, it may go some way towards improving young people’s experience of visiting a sexual health clinic.

Commenting on the report, Gillian Merron MP, Minister of State for Public Health, said: "We have done a great deal of work to improve local sexual health services which has had a real impact on the lives of young people, who are now able to access clinics more quickly and receive a better range of services.

"Sexual health must continue to be a key priority both in the NHS and in government. 'You're Welcome' is a vital part of how we will do more to halt the spread of sexually transmitted infections and reduce unintended pregnancies by involving young people in improving the services they need and use. I congratulate everyone involved in pulling together this report."

Find out more

• Take action to improve sexual health services
• Download a copy of the report