The following is an outline of challenges and solutions in the two countries the government is looking to most, and what the UK might learn. The Netherlands has the lowest teen pregnancy rate in Europe. In Holland, there is social stigma attached to getting pregnant, while in some poor areas of the UK, pregnancy has become normalised. Children are taught openly about sex both at home and at school - and they are expected to deal with sex responsibly. Contraception is promoted for its health benefits by Dutch doctors.
Many young women start using the pill before they begin having sex.
The Netherlands defies theories that openness encourages sex. Surveys show that teenagers in the Netherlands are likely to start having sex on average a year later than their British counterparts. Roger Ingham, who has done comparative studies of the two countries for the Centre for Sexual Health Research at the University of Southampton, says openness is the answer. If anything, as the results from recent assessments of sex education make clear, earlier and more open sex education is likely to lead to improved sexual health through more competent interactions. More shocking are the results.