Research by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA), the Irish Government's body set up to tackle the problem of unexpected pregnancy, has found that young women feel increasing pressure to know more about sex.The report is part of a follow-up project on the perceptions of women about fertility, sex and motherhood. It comes in addition to one in 2004, this time studying low-income rural women and also using some of the data that could not be included in the original. Women interviewed as part of the study spoke of the dual pressure to have sex but being labelled for doing so.
The report says becoming sexually active features as a strong component in a young woman's personal identity but 'at the same time, these interviews reveal the pressures to have sex in contexts they experience as more negative.'
Among the other issues mentioned by the women in the study were the feeling that they needed to offer sex to have a boyfriend, the sense of isolation in having sex and that sex is also shameful and being labelled both for having sex and for choosing not to do so.
Meanwhile, other research by the CPA has found that the number of teenagers travelling to Britain for abortions has increased substantially over the past 30 years, though the rate of teenage fertility has remained stable.
The report, Teenage Pregnancy Data, said that 'a moderate number of births take place each year to teenagers in Ireland.'
The report, which was compiled to look at how teenage fertility has changed over the past 35 years, said there was 'a common misconception that teenage fertility is increasing in Ireland.'
It found that the majority (75 per cent in 2005) of teenage births were to young women aged 18 to 19, with a 'very small number' of births to younger teenagers.
'In 2005 there were 42 births to teenagers aged 15 and under, which represented 2 per cent of all births to teenagers that year.'
Looking at the teenage fertility rate - which is the number of live births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 - the report found that this increased from 16.3 in 1970 to a peak of 23 in 1980.
It declined through the 1980s but then, from 1995, steadily rose to 20.2 in 1999.
However, it has again decreased to 16.8 in 2005.
While the rate of teenage fertility has remained fairly steady over the past 30 years, the marriage rate has plummeted. While 39.8 per cent of teenage births were within marriage in 1984, this was just 7 per cent by 2005.
The report noted a 'substantial increase in the number of teenagers travelling for abortions', though this has declined again since 2001.
Commenting on the research, the Pro-Life Campaign (PLC) said that, while some of the CPA research was useful, much of it was 'ideologically driven'.
Pointing out that the CPA itself had 'a significant role to play in reducing the number of abortions', a PLC spokesperson added that its Positive Options campaign lists abortion as a positive option on a par with other options. Such a message was 'certainly not going to contribute to a reduction in abortions', the spokesperson continued.