The age at which young Dutch homosexuals come out of the closet continues to fall, despite a persistently negative image of homosexuality.

In the past six years, the age at which gay boys tell another person about their sexual preference for the first time has decreased by more than a year to an average 16.6 years old. Among lesbian girls the average age dropped by nearly six months to 15.9 years old.

The figures come from a survey of 8,000 young people aged 12 to 25, conducted by the sexual health organisations Rutgers WPF and Soa Aids Nederland. A similar survey was conducted in 2005.

According to the latest survey, acceptance of homosexuality among young people remains limited. Nearly none of those interviewed had problems with a girl and a boy kissing in public, but almost half the boys and 16 percent of the girls disapproved of two boys kissing in public.

When it’s two girls kissing, 16 percent of the boys disapproved compared to 25 percent of the girls. One in eight boys and three percent of the girls said they would break off a friendship if one of their friends turned out to be gay or lesbian.

The sexual behaviour of young people has scarcely changed at all over the past six years. The age at which they have sex for the first time has remained the same and most young people still say they take adequate precautions to prevent pregnancy.

Of the boys, 87 percent said they used a condom or some other form of birth control when they had sex for the first time. Among girls this was slightly higher at 91 percent. The increase in the number of sexually active young people in secondary education, which was apparent in the period from 1995 to 2005, has now stabilised.

There are new trends in terms of first-time sexual experiences. Girls are more likely to regret their first time than boys. Nearly a third of the girls said they regretted their first sexual intercourse, compared to just 16 percent of the boys. More than one-fifth of the girls said they would rather have waited a little longer, compared to just 8 percent of their male counterparts.

(gsh/rc/imm)

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