By Sophie Borland
The Health Survey for England 2010 found that men reported having 9.3 different partners on average while women said they only had 4.7 partners.
On average men have claimed to have had twice as many sexual partners than women (posed by models)
Twice as many men (27 per cent) boasted of having made more than 10 conquests compared to 13 per cent of women. This contrast was apparent in the groups aged 25-34 and older.
In contrast a quarter of women revealed they had only been with one partner during their lifetimes compared to 17 per cent of men.
However, a third of men said their number was an 'estimate' compared to 17 per cent of women.
The report from the NHS Information centre also revealed more than a quarter of young women today lost their virginity when they were below the legal age of consent.
Some 27 per cent of 16 to 24 year-olds admit they were 15 or under when they had sex for the first time.
One in eight of this age group have already had sex with at least ten different partners.
The areas in white show how men soon take the lead in the proportion who have had more than 10 partners
MPs and campaigners yesterday blamed the ‘pornification of society’ for encouraging young girls to dress themselves up as sex objects before they have even reached puberty.
The figures detail for the first time how young girls are increasingly losing their virginity before they reach 16.
They reveal how by comparison, just 4 per cent of women now aged 55 to 64 first had sex when they were under-age. This rises to 10 per cent of 45 to 54 year-olds, and 14 per cent of 35 to 44 year-olds.
Critics say the rise in promiscuity over the generations is linked to increased sex education in schools that has ‘broken down the natural inhibitions of children with regard to sexual conduct’.
The figures also show that more than a fifth of sexually active women aged 16 to 24 have taken the morning-after pill at least once in the past year. Almost 60 per cent admitted they did not always use contraception.
By comparison 22 per cent of men aged 16 to 24 lost their virginity when they were 15 or under. Some 41 per cent said they used a condom every time, although only 5.4 per cent said they had caught a sexually transmitted infection.
Diane Abbott, shadow health minister, said: ‘Too many young girls are absorbing from the popular culture around them that they only have value as sex objects. Inevitably they act this notion out.
‘The rising numbers of girls having under-age sex is alarming. It is not a cost-free phenomenon. It poses public health policy challenges and social challenges. The underlying cause must be the pornification of British culture and the increasing sexualisation of pre-adolescent girls.’
Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust said: ‘Over recent years we have witnessed the systematic removal of every restraint which in previous generations served as a disincentive to underage sexual activity.
‘Sex education in many schools has had the effect of breaking down the natural inhibitions of children with regard to sexual conduct, and the age of consent is rarely enforced, so young people no longer have any fear of legal proceedings.
‘On top of that, the ready availability of contraception means that a girl’s fear of pregnancy is no longer considered a good enough reason for rejecting her boyfriend’s advances, and confidentiality policies mean that a girl need not worry about what her parents would think about her being sexually active, obtaining contraception, being treated for a sexually transmitted infection or even having an abortion, because they don’t have to be told.’
The figures have come from a survey of the sexual behaviours of 8,420 men and women aged 16 to 69, carried out by the NHS this year for the first time.
They also reveal that one in seven women aged 16 to 24 who had lost their virginity had caught a sexually transmitted infection at least once. Only four in ten said they always used contraception when having sex.
Across all age groups, the statistics show that 14 per cent of women lost their virginity before the age of 16 compared with 20 per cent of men.
The average age for losing virginity was 17, although for those aged 16 to 24 it was 16.
Although Britain’s teenage pregnancy rates have recently started to fall, they still remain among the highest in Europe. In 2009, there were 38,259 pregnancies in girls under 18 compared with 41,361 in 2008, a decline of 7.5 per cent. Every year around 3,700 girls under 16 have an abortion.
There is concern that society is becoming increasingly ‘sexualised’. Last year the final of ITV’s the X Factor final attracted more than 4,000 complaints following raunchy performances by singers Christina Aguilera and Rihanna.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2074919/Promiscuous-Britain-One-4-young-women-admit-sex-age-16--twice-mothers.html#ixzz1ghlTBxCt
