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Wednesday, 14 February, 2001, 00:47 GMT
Britons 'losing virginity at 15'
The survey suggests many young people do not practise safe sex
More than a quarter of young Britons claim to have lost their virginity when they were 15,
according to a survey.
The average age for having sex for the first time is 17 in the UK.
Separate research shows that worldwide the average age is 18.
We need to continue to educate people - especially young adults - about the importance of
good sexual health
The survey, by condom makers Durex, also revealed that the Scots have the most active sex
lives, having sex 117 times a year compared to the national average of 110.
Scots also have more lovers than those south of the border, the study indicates.
Those aged between 16 and 55 said they had had more than 10 sexual partners, compared with
an average of nine among the rest of the UK.
Taking risks
The report indicates that 30% of 16 to 20-year-olds in the UK are not heeding safe sex
messages, and had unprotected sex in the past year.
This compares to just 7% of the over-45s.
Top sex symbols for British men
1= Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kournikova
3 Jennifer Lopez
Sarah Rose, Durex's marketing director, said it was vital young people listened to the
safe sex message.
"While many people are clearly listening to the safer sex message, there are those,
particularly among the younger age group who are choosing to take risks," she said.
"We need to continue to educate people - especially young adults - about the
importance of good sexual health."
Top sex symbols for British women
1 George Clooney
2 Mel Gibson
3= Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt
Anne Weyman, chief executive of the Family Planning Association, said the report confirmed
the association's fears that young people were taking risks with their sexual health.
"They are particularly susceptible to unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infection (STI), with 16 to 19-year-olds demonstrating the highest increases in diagnoses
for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital warts.
"Young people may appear to know it all, but the reality is very different.
Sex symbol: George Clooney
"Only by educating young people about the positive aspects of sex including the
effective use of contraception and the avoidance of negative outcomes can we hope to
combat these growing trends."
Durex also asked British men and women who set their pulses racing.
Nearly a quarter of women said their top heart throb was actor George Clooney, followed by
Mel Gibson, and then in joint third position, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
Men rated Friends actress Jennifer Aniston and tennis player Anna Kournikova as the
world's sexiest women - each receiving 15 % of the vote.
Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez came third, with 13% of the votes.
Source: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1168000/1168357.stm)
Friday, 23 June, 2000, 00:21 GMT 01:21 UK
Teenagers losing their virginity at 15
Most teenagers' first sexual experience is a one night stand and happens when they are
drunk
One in four teenagers have had sexual intercourse before they are 16 and some have lost
their virginity as early as 13.
A survey of 1,000 teenagers across the UK, found half of those questioned had had sex.
One in three sexually active teenagers said their first experience was a one-night stand
and half said the experience had happened when they were drunk.
Most who have had sex did so for the first time at the age of 15 while those who had not
yet had lost their virginity felt pressured to do so.
More than a third of girls said they regretted having sex after a one-night stand and 42%
have used the morning after pill at least once.
Contraception
The survey, which was carried out for Channel 4, found few teenagers discussed
contraception before having sex, while those from deprived backgrounds were half as likely
to discuss or use condoms.
One in four under 16s didn't know they could buy condoms
One in four did not think it was possible for under 16s to buy condoms and the same
proportion believed a doctor would tell a girl's parents if she asked for the
contraceptive pill.
One in ten boys did not know girls could get pregnant after having sex for their first
time.
More girls than boys thought they should be in love before having sex. Girls who had not
yet had sex were more likely to say they had not met the right person, whereas boys were
more likely to say they had not had the chance.
By the time they are 16 years old, the typical British teenager has kissed or "got
off with" someone. Two-thirds have engaged in light petting, such as touching
breasts, while half have touched a partner's genitals.
One in three have masturbated a partner and one in five have received or given oral sex.
Almost 30% of boys and 20% of girls have had an orgasm with a partner.
If we continue to ignore young people's sexuality and hope that it will go away
we will be doing a great disservice to our younger generation
Researchers at the University of Southampton, who carried out the survey, found that the
average time between a person's first kiss and losing their virginity was 3.2 years.
The time lapse between touching a girl's breast and having sex is determined as 1.4 years
while those who have touched another person's genitals usually have sex within six months.
However, almost half have sex immediately after touching their partner's genitals for the
first time.
Education
Dr Roger Ingham, director of the centre for sexual health research at the University of
Southampton, said the findings demonstrated the need to improve sex education for British
teenagers.
"Compared to some other European countries, the UK is some way behind in educating
young people about sex.
"If we continue to ignore young people's sexuality and hope that it will go away, or
if we simply say that abstinence programmes are the solution, then we will be doing a
great disservice to our younger generation."
A spokeswoman from Brook, a charitable organisation that offers free sexual advice and
contraception to more than 100,000 young people every year, expressed concern that more
teenagers were not using condoms.
"While pregnancy rates for teenagers remain the same, rates of sexually transmitted
infections are increasing all the time.
"But until primary and secondary schools provide proper sex education, where they
address the issues around sex and not just the biological aspects, then this problem will
not go away."