A MOBILE phone text service will be launched next week to help provide sexual health advice to young men across County Durham.
The service, which has been funded by the County Durham Teenage Pregnancy Board, is confidential and anonymous.
Ady Davis, a young men's sexual health worker at the End House Young People's Centre, in Durham, has been appointed to provide the advice.
He said: "Sexual health services have traditionally been seen as services for women, even though the introduction of the Condom Card scheme across County Durham has proved successful in bringing young men into contact with sexual health support services.
"Most transactions for young men are still focused around condom provision, and it is difficult for a young man to ask the questions that really matter."
To use the service, males aged between 13 and 25 can text TP Lads followed by a space and then their question, to 60003.
They will be texted with the information, support or advice needed.
Telephone numbers are only kept long enough to reply, and standard text costs will apply.
Gail Thompson, County Durham's teenage pregnancy strategy co-ordinator said: "Logically, young men provide half the solution to tackling Britain's high rate of teenage pregnancy, but until now, little has been done to proactively engage them within sexual health services."
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