Sex education - a shared responsibility
The TMAP position statement
The magazine publishing industry, responding to growing public concern about the sexual content of teenage magazines, in collaboration with the Home Office, has developed guidelines on how teenage magazines should handle sexual subject matter. TMAP and the guidelines were officially launched on 26 November 1996. These guidelines are only applicable to magazines where 25 per cent or more of the readership are young women under the age of 15.
TMAP has a remit to consider complaints from the public alleging that magazines in this sector have ignored the guidelines in specific editorial pieces.
The Panel occasionally receives complaints which do not refer to specific articles, but object in general terms to the provision of information on sexuality and sexual behaviour in teenage magazines and the way in which this information is presented.
A study by Kaye Wellings, commissioned by PPA, revealed dramatic changes in the teenage sexual behaviour over the last 30 years. The average age at which sexual intercourse is first experienced is now 17 years. Previously, the average age was 20 years for men and 21 years for women. In the UK, one in five women and one in four men now have experience of sexual intercourse before the age of 16. These changes predate the emergence of the teenage magazine sector.
We have no firm evidence to suggest that appropriate, professional advice in teenage magazines encourages people to enter into sexual relationships. An extensive world-wide comparison of teenage pregnancy by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (1997) links high occurences of such pregnancies with poor access to sex education. Many of our European neighbours have more explicit magazines yet still maintain a lower rate of teenage pregnancy - Dutch figures are one seventh of those in the UK. The UK's depressing record of the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe shows that British adolescents need high quality information and guidance on issues of sexual health and relationships.
While it is the responsibility of both schools and families to provide such information, there are questions that many teenagers find difficult to ask either parents or teachers. The many letters received by teenage magazine agony aunts each week bear witness to this, revealing that there is still much ignorance and anguish about issues of sexual health amongst teenagers.
Publishers have accepted the responsibility of providing teenagers with accurate information and responsible guidance during the difficult period of adolescence. They have actively co-operated in the formation of the TMAP guidelines. If publishers embrace the guidelines in practice as well as spirit, there will be no barrier to them answering questions on sexual and emotional matters in an accurate, sensitive and informative way.
Teenage language and culture differs from that of the adult world. The use of such language may seem inappropriate to adults, but it helps the target audience: slang terms and humour when discussing intimate details sometimes make readers feel more confortable with the subject matter involved. If these magazines were to use adult formats and language, their message would not be heard by their young readers. The Panel supports publishers and editors in the teenage magazine industry in their efforts to present sexual and sex-related informaton to teenagers in an accessible and acceptable manner.
TMAP's role will continue to be one of monitoring magazines, adjudicating complaints and ensuring that those working within the teenage magazine industry adhere to the TMAP guidelines.
Contact: Kerry Neilson , TMAP secretariat, kerry.neilson@ppa.co.uk, 0207 400 7520
Teenage
Magazine Arbitration Panel (TMAP)
28 Kingsway
London WC2B 6JR
tel: 0207 400 7520 - fax: 020 7404 4167 - email: kerry.neilson@ppa.co.uk - web: www.tmap.org.uk -
site contact: Kerry Neilson - this site is audited by ABC Electronic -
