How soon is too soon to have sex?

The age you can start having sex is set to be lowered from the age of 17 to 16 in Northern Ireland.

Some people do not agree with lowering the age of consent

However, the decision, which was made by members of the House of Lords in June, has sparked a debate about when the right time teenagers should start having sex.

1Xtra News has been investigating what young people and sexual health experts think of the new rule.

"When I look back I don't think I was ready, it was just what my friends were doing," said Louise, who was 14 when she first had sex.

"We were living the lives of 18-year-olds, by going out to nightclubs and getting drunk. You think you're this big woman, but I wasn't really."

Now 25, she has four children and admits it "frightens" her to think her kids are going to be having sex at the age of 16.

Listen to the 1Xtra documentary on sex

Have your say: Is the age of consent at the right level?

Teenage pregnancy

Minister of State Paul Goggins said he was "absolutely confident" the right decision had been made to lower the age of consent.

"I think the quality of advice that we've received is taking us to the right solution here," he said.

We need to bring the law out of line with what's happening in society, because what's happening in society is utter chaos Democratic Unionist Party member Jim Wells

However, the move is not without controversy.

Democratic Unionist Party member Jim Wells has opposed the change right from the start.

"We need to bring the law out of line with what's happening in society, because what's happening in society is utter chaos," he said.

The UK has the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the whole of Western Europe, and the latest abortion figures show a 10% rise in the number of under-16s having terminations.

Mr Goggins admitted he is "very concerned" about the rising figures, but is adamant none of those issues are linked to the age of consent.

"If you look at Denmark, they have 15 as the age of consent, but they have the second lowest teenage pregnancy rates in the whole of Europe," he said.

The age that you can start having sex varies around the world.

'Sexualised content'

In Spain 13-year-olds can legally start a sexual relationship and in Tunisia it is 20.

The age of consent varies in both America and Australia from state to state and residents of Oman, in southwest Asia, must be married to start having sex.

Zoe Hilton from the children's charity, NSPCC, said children are growing up in a more "sexualised world".

She said: "There is an extra pressure in terms of the sexualised content in music, in the mainstream media and on the internet."

However, Lucy Emerson from the Sex Education Forum reckons if young people are given the right information at an early age it will help them understand sex more.

"We'd like to see children arriving at primary school and having questions about relationships answered."