Why do we need to address the needs of young BME People

1

Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Improving access to
services for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)
young people

• Why do we need to address the needs of young BME
  People?
• What is already happening in your local area?
• National initiatives targeting BME young people

2
Young people from BMECs are disproportionately
represented in the groups of young people who are
at risk of

• Teenage Pregnancy
• Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Being excluded from school and poor educational
  attainment
• Being in the care of the local authority
• Being in young offender institutions
• Being in the mental health system
• Being unemployed and
• Living in poverty and poor housing conditions

3
Issues impacting on BME young people

• Lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate
  sex and relationships education both in schools
  and other community settings
• Lack of or limited discussion about such taboo
  issues with parents and carers
• Peer and community pressure to conform to
  different norms around personal relationships
• Arranged and forced marriages caste and faith
  based discrimination
• Pressure to terminate a pregnancy
• Sexual violence within relationships
• Self Harm and suicide
• Honour killings

4
Barriers to service provision for BMECs include

• Institutional and Personal racism
• A lack of culturally and linguistically
  appropriate sexual health information and
  services
• Concerns about confidentiality and anonymity
• No relevant images and/or a poor atmosphere
• Inaccessible information
• Poor staff attitudes and behaviour

5
What do you know already about BMECs in your
area?

• Which BMECs live in your locality and which
  organisations represent them?
• Has any research been conducted around teenage
  pregnancy and sexual health with these young
  people locally?
• What partnerships and collaborative working
  arrangements already exist?
• What examples of best practice are there around
  work with local BMECs?

6

• Have any peer led models or mentoring schemes
  been developed with BMECs?
• What support exists for teenage parents from
  these communities?
• What work is being developed with the parents and
  carers of young people from BMECs?
• What training and support is needed for
  professionals to enhance work with local BMECs
  around teenage pregnancy issues?

7
Teenage Pregnancy initiatives Targeting BME young
people

• Guidance for Developing Contraception and Sexual
  Health Advice Services to reach BME young people
• Diverse Communities Identity and Teenage
  Pregnancy
• Faith, Values and Sex and Relationships Education
  
• GOL - BME Diversity Toolkit Key risk factors
  for teenage pregnancy diverse communities
• TP IAG and Faith Communities Consultative
  Committee
• Teenage Pregnancy National Support Team

8
Teenage Pregnancy Research Programme

• Protective and risk factors for early sexual
  activity and contraception amongst BME young
  people in East London (2005)
• Exploring the attitudes and behaviours of
  Bangladeshi, Indian and Jamaican young people in
  relation to reproductive and sexual health (2005)
• An exploration of the teenage parenting
  experiences of young people of BME origin in
  England (2005)

9
Enhancing teenage pregnancy work with BME young
people means

• Not everything that is faced can be changed but
  nothing can be changed until it is faced.
• James Baldwin