We hear many reports in the media of young girls being given the morning-after pill or children as young as 12 having abortions.

There appears to be a sexual revolution going on, with the media sexualising our very young girls and with some parents agreeing by default.

Surely it is important for our society that we protect our children?

Girls magazines are a strong influence, as are many television programmes. We now understand children who have mobile phones can receive unsuitable information.

How can we help parents and children? Are they aware they may need help?

There is a great desire to make sure children conform and keep up with their peers. When children say everybody is or has the latest whatever, we need to help a child understand that we do not need to copy.

Can we help our children not to run with the crowd but understand it is all right to be different?

Could schools help by providing parents' evenings where these issues could be discussed and parents helped to understand that they do not have to allow the media to run their own and their children's lives?

Marketing companies know if they target the children they plead with parents to purchase the latest product and the companies make a lot of money. But how many of those "must-have" objects sit on the shelf unused after a while?

Could parents question and discuss what they want for their children and how they will achieve it by working together? Last week I was in a newsagents and a magazine on the shelf had a virtually naked woman on the front cover. My eight-year-old granddaughter said "yuck" and turned it over.

I had not said a word but the truth is not many women look like this posed model anyway. Why should magazines like this be put in front of young children? There is nothing wrong with a naked body but these magazines are about promoting sexual images.

Education is seen as the answer to the problem of under-age sex. The assumption is children are going to do it anyway, so we will teach them about safe sex.

If safe sex is the solution why are there so many abortions?

And why is one of the highest abortion rates amongst the 25-35 age group, who ought to know the solution?

The truth is there is no such thing as safe sex and we are failing our children by pretending there is. Also, the high rate of sexually transferable diseases is extremely worrying.

I know a young girl who became pregnant at 14. My concern is that the young man who made her pregnant was 17 and if he had been charged with under-age sex this might begin to send the message to teenage boys that girls are not there for their purposes.

We might then stop blaming young girls for getting pregnant as if they managed it all on their own.

We could then expect boys and men to take responsibility for their actions. We might also protect boys and girls from being forced into relationships before they are ready as a result of thinking they must conform.

I know sex is a powerful drive and young people do have sex. We must help the vulnerable but something is very wrong when children as young as 12 require abortions or need the morning-after pill.

As a mother and grandmother I believe we should all be concerned about protecting the next generation. As the pressures on parents and children are enormous, we need to support them in any way we can.

-Councillor Anne Jones MBE, Burgess Hill