Intro | Gender | Diversity | Further Reading | References

Introduction

Women's sexual and reproductive health is closely related to the social and cultural influences on their lives. Today, Australian women are having fewer babies and at a later age than they were forty years ago, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are giving birth at a slightly younger age than non-Aboriginal women. Young women are more vulnerable than older women to unsafe or unwanted sex, and emergency contraception is used mostly by adolescents.

Gender

The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides information about women's sexual and reproductive health including;

• Australian fertility has continued to decline in the forty years since the overall fertility rate peaked in 1961 at 3.55 babies per woman[1]. The current fertility rate is 1.81 babies per woman. The rate has gradually increased sine 2001 (mainly due to women giving birth at a later age), but it is still much lower than four decades ago[1].
• The average age of all women giving birth in 2006 was the highest on record at 31 years[1].
• Teenage fertility continues to decline[2].

Research into young women's sexual and reproductive health shows:

• Young women delay seeking prescription contraception for an average of one year after first having sex, and half of adolescent pregnancies occur during the first six months of sexual activity[3].
• Adolescents are the most frequent users of emergency contraception at Australian Family Planning clinics[3].
• One study found that Australian men use condoms 41% of the time when having casual sex; less with excessive alcohol consumption[4].
• Young women are especially vulnerable to unsafe or unwanted sex practices[5].
• Ten percent of Australian women report being sexually coerced prior to the age of 16 years[6].
• The consequences of sexual coercion include unwanted pregnancy, possible infertility, chronic pain, and in some instances even death[5].
• Social implications of unplanned pregnancy may include disruptions to domestic or economic activities, abuse, partner abandonment and sometimes divorce[5].

Diversity

Women with disabilities

• Rates of infertility among women with a disability are similar to women without a disability[7].
• Physicians are often unable or unwilling to assist women with a disability with pregnancy information[8].
• Contraceptive options for women with a disability who don’t want to get pregnant are sometimes limited. Women with quadriplegia for example, are unable to insert diaphragms[7].
• The contraceptive pill may contribute to blood clots or conversely, medications may interfere with the pill or contraceptive implants[7].

Aborignal and Torres Strait islander women

• Five percent (12,500) of all births registered in Australia for 2006 identified at least one parent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent[1].
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are generally younger than non-Aboriginal women giving birth, with almost 75% aged below 30. This is compared with less than 50% of all women giving birth in Australia aged below 30[1]. 

Same-sex attracted women

• On average young same-sex attracted (SSA) people are sexually active at a younger age than their heterosexual peers.
• In a sample of 643 young SSA women aged 14-21, 30% had had sex with females only, 30% with both sexes and 12% with males only[9].
• Fewer young SSA women than young SSA men used condoms during penetrative sex with a male[9].
• Ten percent of the young SSA women had had sex that resulted in a pregnancy, compared with 8% of heterosexual young women[9].
• Young SSA people surveyed were five times more likely than their heterosexual peers to report having a sexually transmitted infection (STI), with 9% of young SSA women reporting having an STI[9].
• General societal homophobia makes it difficult for SSA people to talk about health issues. Of family, friends and professionals, young SSA people are least likely to disclose their sexual identity to professionals. Despite this, research has found that receiving adequate support from professionals increased from 1998 to 2004 (65% to 75%)[9].

Further Reading

Marie Stopes International Research webpage contains Key Findings reports from their latest research into sexual and reproductive healthcare issues.  Reports include;

• What Women Want: when faced with an unplanned pregnancy: Key Findings (2007)
• Real Choices: Women, contraception and unplanned pregnancy: Key Findings (2008)

The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young Victorians
This report provides an overview of the sexual and reproductive health of young Victorians. Published in 2005, it was a collaborative project between Family Planning Victoria, Royal Women's Hospital and the Centre for Adolescent Health.

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