The special needs of young people are often not taken into account by governments and policy makers. Because of this, as well as because of taboos surrounding their sexuality, young people are often left without access to information, education and services to protect themselves.
Education can be crucial in promoting safer sexual behaviour. There is evidence for a link between higher education levels and more condom use during high-risk sex.
In many parts of the world young people are hard hit by poverty, which can drive them towards high-risk behaviours such as sex work and injecting drug use. In several Asian countries, over 60 per cent of people who engage in transactional sex are 24 years old or younger. In Central Asia and Eastern Europe, up to 25 per cent of injecting drug users are under 20.
The risk of HIV transmission is especially high for young women and girls. Biologically, women are more likely to become infected during unprotected vaginal intercourse than men. But susceptibility is even higher before the vaginal wall and the lining of the cervix are fully developed. Social and gender inequalities and practices – such as early marriage, sexual violence and the search by older men for younger partners – create added risks for young women.
In countries hardest hit by the epidemic, children and young people (usually girls) are often taken out of school to look after family members living with HIV or AIDS or to take care of younger brothers and sisters.
Social and cultural identities and roles (particularly around masculinity) assigned to and expected of boys and young men often place both themselves and their partners at increased risk of HIV.
Young people affected by conflict or in other high-risk settings are more likely to engage, many times unwillingly, in sexual activities that put them at increased risk of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Additional risk factors that often affect young people include:
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