Hi there,
Thanks for your letter. It sounds like you're feeling scared to go to the clinic as you have had sex at the age of 13. Im really glad that you have written to me to talk about this and that you have been thinking about going to your local clinic. Your local family planning clinic or Brook centre can be really good places to get help and advice about sex, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.
I can hear that youre scared the clinic might tell the police or social services. The law does say that you need to be 16 before you can choose to have sex, but this law is there to protect young people and not to get them in trouble. The police want to make sure adults arent taking advantage of young people and dont usually use this against two young people who both want to have sex.
Its completely natural for young people under the age of 16 to have relationships. If two people are about the same age, and if neither of them is putting pressure on the other to do something they dont want to, the law won't usually be used against them. If you wanted to find out more about what the law says exactly, you can talk to the Childrens Legal Centre for free.
Places such as Brook also aim to keep your information private. You can read a bit more about their confidentiality policy on their website.
ChildLines message boards have a very useful area on sex and sexual health. This might be a good place to talk to other young people who have been in a similar position as you.
Remember that ChildLine counsellors are also there to support you if you ever need to talk. You can contact a ChildLine counsellor on 0800 1111 or via a 1-2-1 chat or email.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
