Pat's Answer

Hi, welcome to Ask Alex.  

We appreciate you writing to us. You are asking what is sex?

It is only natural that questions around sexual activity arise for young people. It can be difficult to source accurate information and find all the answers. It is important that you get your information from a reliable source.

Maybe a situation you find yourself in, has this on your mind. You have the right to know that the legal age for sexual activity in Ireland is 17 years old. You have the right to talk about sex and relationships with the adults you trust. It is adults like your parents and teachers whose responsibility it is to ensure that you are correctly educated with regards to these types of topics.

Is there someone you usually speak to, or place you go to, to get answers to questions that you have? Sometimes it might be someone close to us or it may be a book or a website. An important website to look up before you make any decisions about sexual activity is: www.B4UDecide.ie. Another website which you may find helpful is: www.SpunOut.ie. They have lots of information on all the experiences young people go through as they grow up. You can find their articles on sex and relationships here: spunout.ie/category/sex-relationships. There are also some articles on the Childline website which you may like to look at: www.childline.ie/sexuality-and-relationships/.

The Childline Team are here to listen to you day and night. You can always have a more in-depth about all this with us by free phone at 1800 66 66 66, by text at 50101, or by web chat through: www.childline.ie.  The services are free, confidential, non-judgmental and we offer a safe place to talk about anything that is going on for you. We would love to hear from you!

Take Care,

Alex