Hello there,
Thanks for your letter. It’s very natural to be thinking about sex at your age. Your body is changing and you are probably wondering about what sex is all about too. That’s very natural and part of growing up.
However, it’s important to remember that the legal age to have sex is 16. That’s because there is more to sex than just ‘doing it’. Sex can affect you emotionally, psychologically and physically. It can change the way you feel about yourself, how others see you and, because it can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, it can change your life forever.
For all these reasons it’s very important to take time to grow and develop as a person and take time to meet the right person who is going to stand by you if you do get pregnant or become ill.
For more information about sex, sexual health, sexually transmitted infections/diseases, pregnancy and the age of consent, you can check out www.brook.org.uk or www.likeitis.org.uk. You can also always talk to a trusted adult – while that may be hard, try to remember that all adults were 12yrs old once too and probably had the same questions you do! It’s okay to talk about this.
Take care
Sam