What Do Danish Youth Want to Know About Sex? Twenty Years of Telephone Counseling on Sexual and Reproductive Issues

Abstract

Young people's need for sexual counseling is well documented, and both website and hotline-based services have been established as means of health promotion in this field. Such measures, however, are rarely evaluated, so this article offers data from the world's presumably oldest sexuality helpline aimed at young people. With an observation time of two decades and a total of 42,325 questions asked, the study provides a unique glance into the sexual landscapes of Danish youth. It shows an overall male predominance among callers and reveals that the counseling themes change over time and differ between both age groups and genders. The article suggests that telephone counseling—although more resource demanding than online alternatives—provides a secure, anonymous, and dialogue-based arena for discussing delicate sexual issues and therefore may constitute a viable supplement to web-based media for young people with the need to talk rather than just chat.