The campaign consists of short videos on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, among others, that encourage young people to think about what they know or want to know about safe sex, and invite them to visit Sense.info. On the website, they can find everything they want to know about sexuality and relationships: whether they want to know how to use a condom correctly, how the hormones in contraceptives work or which contraceptive method suits them best.
“A lot of information about contraception is circulating on social media, and that information is not always accurate or can be directive. It is important that young people know where to find reliable information, so they can make an informed choice about how to protect themselves against unintended pregnancy and STIs,” says Ingvil de Haan, reproductive health expert at Rutgers.
The study Sex under the Age of 25, conducted by Soa Aids Nederland and Rutgers in collaboration with the municipal health services, shows that many young people have difficulty finding accurate information about sexuality, contraception and STI prevention.
In addition, we see that condom and pill use is declining among this group, while the number of STIs is increasing. The pill is still the most widely used contraceptive method, but its use has been declining for years. One in five girls has had penis-in-vagina sex but does not use contraception. The main reason for this is that they do not want to use hormones. These girls do not choose condoms as an alternative either. And no condom is used during 4 in 10 one-night stands. In addition to the risk of STIs, this may also entail a risk of unintended pregnancy.