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British teenagers are the most sexually active in Europe and children should be taught about contraception to stem the problem of teenage pregnancies, a report published on Monday said.

A study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that 38 percent of British 15-year-olds had had sex in the period from 2001-2.

That compared to just 15 percent in Poland, 16 percent in Spain and was also far greater than the countries with the second highest proportion - Sweden, Finland and Germany.

In addition Britain had the highest rate of teenage births, an average of 26 live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19.

Sexually related diseases such as Chlamydia and herpes had also risen amongst young people, with one in three 15-year-olds admitting they didn't use condoms.

Last month the British government said it would target "hot spot" areas for teenage pregnancies and encourage local authorities to focus their efforts on cutting the numbers.

But the IPPR said despite previous government initiatives, progress had been slow. It called for all children to be taught about the importance of contraception in their last year at primary school, when they are 10 or 11 years old.

Julia Margo, senior research fellow for the IPPR, said there had been a dramatic fall in the last 50 years in the average age people first had sex.

"The proportion of young people who are sexually active before the age of consenthas risen from less than one percent to 25 percent," she said.

"Our education system must respond in kind and start teaching children about the risks involved in sex before they even consider taking those risks."

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(Agencies)

本周一公布的一项调查报告显示，在欧洲，英国青少年的性行为最为活跃。对此，英国应及早教育孩子们如何避孕，以防止青少年早孕现象的发生。

公共政策研究所进行的一项研究表明，在15岁的英国少年中，有38%的人在2001年至2002年这一年中发生过性行为。

这一比例在波兰和西班牙分别为15%和16%。瑞典、芬兰和德国的青少年性行为发生比例排第二，但也远不及英国。

此外，英国的青少年生育率最高，在每1000个15至19岁的少女中，平均有26个活产。

另外，感染衣原体疾病及疱疹等性病的青少年增多。在15岁的青少年中，有三分之一承认他们在发生性行为时没有使用安全套。

英国政府上月表示，政府将重点治理青少年早孕的“高发地区”，并会敦促当地政府集中力量解决这一问题。

公共政策研究所说，尽管政府已开始“行动”，但进展很缓慢。研究所呼吁，应对10岁或11岁的孩子，也就是在孩子们上小学最后一年时，开始宣传安全性行为的重要性。

研究所高级研究员茱丽亚·玛格说，在过去50年中，英国青少年初次性行为的平均年龄有很大下降。

她说：“在合法年龄前发生性行为的青少年比率从不到1%上升到25%。”

“因此，我们的教育体系必须做出相应调整，应及早对孩子们进行相关教育，让他们认识到不安全性行为存在的风险。”