UK
IGNORING SAFER SEX MESSAGE
Women
in some regions of the country appear to be more at risk of sexually
transmitted infections than men. 14% of women in the
North West
say they’ve had an STI, compared to 10% of
men
They also appear to be losing their
virginity at an earlier age, compared to their male counterparts, as 19%
of female respondents say they lost their virginity at 15, compared to
12% of men.
·
Regionally, people living in the
North West
are more likely to have unprotected sex
without knowing their partner’s sexual history (56%)
·
Londoners report the highest incidence of STIs, with 15% claiming to
have had one. The Scottish are not far behind, with 13% saying they’ve
had an infection
·
A quarter of all under-16s living in
London
reported they’ve had an unplanned
pregnancy
·
50% of all under-16s living in the South say they’ve had one sexual
partner. A quarter claim they’ve had between two and five sexual
partners
·
People across the
UK
, and particularly in the South, believe that
Government money should be channelled into providing better sex
education in schools
SAFER
sex messages do not appear to be heeded by people living in the
UK
, as reports of unprotected sex and sexually
transmitted infections (STI) remain high, the Durex Report 2006 has
found.
The
new report reveals regional variations across the
UK
in issues such as unprotected sex, incidence
of STI, unplanned pregnancy and sex education.
Statistics
show that, in the
North West
, 56% said they’ve had unprotected sex
without knowing their partner’s history. Women in the region appear to
be more at risk of contracting a STI, with 14% saying they’ve had one,
compared to 10% of their male counterparts.
It
is a similar picture in the
Midlands
, as 10% of women said they’ve had an STI,
compared to 8% of
Midlands
men.
Women
also appear to be losing their virginity at an earlier age – 19% of
female respondents to the survey said they were 15 when they first had
sex, and 23% said they were 16 when they lost their virginity. In
comparison, only 12% of men said they first had sex at 15 and 16% said
they lost their virginity at 16.
The
national average for people to lose their virginity is 16.6 years, the
survey found.
Ruth
Gresty, Durex senior brand manager, said: “It’s concerning that the
figures appear to point to the fact people are ignoring safer sex
messages and are having unprotected sex, regardless of the risks of
contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
“Although
being infected with a STI has health implications for both sexes, there
are greater implications on a woman’s future health – particularly
if she and her partner want to start a family.”
Chlamydia
can cause infertility in women and often has no symptoms. Figures from
the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show there were 103,932 new diagnoses
of the disease in 2004 – an eight per cent increase on 2003 numbers.
People
who took part in the Durex Report poll said there should be greater
public awareness about chlamydia (68%), along with more awareness of
HIV/AIDS (53%) and Hepatitis (41%).
Findings
also broadly echo other findings from the HPA, in that
London
has the highest rate of STIs in the country.
Findings from the Durex Report show that 15% of those surveyed said
they’ve had a STI. The Scots are close behind, with 13% also saying
they’ve had an infection.
A
quarter of all under-16s living in London who were surveyed said
they’d had an unplanned pregnancy, while teenagers in the South were
more sexually active than any other region, as 50% said they’d had one
lover. A quarter claimed they’d had between two and five sexual
partners.
The
country as a whole believed there should be more Government cash
channelled into providing better and more teaching materials for schools
and healthcare professionals to drive home the importance of safer sex
message. Others believed the Government should be investing in the
provision of free contraception to raise awareness of safer sex.
Ruth
added: “The country as a whole is suffering from rising rates of STIs
and the only way to prevent them – and unplanned pregnancy – is to
use a condom during sex.
“People
need to take greater responsibility for their sexual health and sexual
wellbeing. New condoms to enhance pleasure have been developed by Durex
so safer sex means better sex too.”
Safe Sex Message
Finally Getting Through to Hedonistic Holidaymakers
LONDON, June 14/PRNewswire/ --
A survey reveals young Brits ARE taking note of the
holiday safe sex message with over
80% of under 25s saying they WOULD NOT
have unprotected sex on holiday.
Experts believe this is down to hearing too
many horror stories from friends.
The research commissioned by TROJAN CONDOMS shows a positive
move towards safer sex on holiday
for young brits. Over 2,000 under 25's
completed the anonymous survey as
part of a new campaign by Trojan Condoms
and Ministry of Sound to make
condoms essential wear this summer which
launches tomorrow.
While fun in the sun is always on the agenda, STIs and
unprotected sex should never be on
the menu. So TROJAN and MINISTRY OF SOUND
are targeting holiday makers to make
sure all they come home with are good
memories. Trojan are giving away
thousands of FREE CONDOMS to support the
message and have teamed up with
Brook to offer professional advice to holiday
makers available online at
www.trojanpleasure.co.uk.
These new results compared with a survey in 2003 by the Centre
for Public Health at
Liverpool
'John Moores' University show an increase in
positive behaviour. It seems there
is a new attitude emerging where young
Brits are taking heed of the condom
message. Results include:
- Fewer risks... 83% of males and 89% of females said they
would NOT have unprotected sex on
holiday. (60% said they had used a condom
in the 2003 survey)
- Fewer partners... The majority stated one partner as an
acceptable amount in one holiday.
There was a fall to 4% of men and 2% of
women citing 6 or more partners as
acceptable. (11% of men and 3% of women
had sex with six or more partners in
the 2003 study findings)
- More condoms... More than half of those surveyed said they
do pre pack condoms for holidays
- Holidays not just about sex... When asked the main reason
for holidaying 51% said to relax
over meeting people and boozing. (compared
to 2003 survey where one in five
said main reason for travelling to
Ibiza
was
for sex)
- Remaining faithful... Men are more likely to be unfaithful
than women with 28% of men saying
they would cheat compared to 18% of women.
There's still a lot of work to do in championing the safe sex
message:
- SPREADING THE RISK... 61% of people said they WOULD NOT tell
their partner they'd had unprotected
sex with somebody else.
Why this change? Helen Knox the
UK
's first outreach clinical
nurse specialist in contraception
and sexual health and founder of Sexplained
Foundation says:
"The logical explanation for this change in attitude is that
people are hearing too many horror
stories from friends. More young people
are being diagnosed with Chlamydia
and other STIs and are telling friends, so
word of mouth is encouraging people
to protect themselves."
Trojan and Ministry of Sound are giving away thousands of free
condoms in a bid to reinforce the
message. Get free TROJAN:
- PRE HOLIDAY - online at www.trojanpleasure.co.uk
- ON HOLIDAY - at Ministry of Sound parties in
Ibiza
- WHEN YOU GET BACK -
UK
airports in association with Brook.
The campaign is housed online at www.trojanpleasure.co.uk and
includes information and advice from
professionals Brook. Jan Barlow, Chief
Executive of Brook, the sexual
health charity for young people, said:
"For most of us going on holiday means relaxing, forgetting
about our everyday worries, and
often having a few drinks too. But whatever
you do, don't forget about the risks
of unprotected sex just because you're
away from home and letting your hair
down. If you have sex without using a
condom you're putting yourself at
risk of an unplanned pregnancy, sexually
transmitted infections and even
HIV."
For full survey results, advice, FREE condoms and the chance
to win a holiday to
Ibiza
and Ministry of Sound CD's go to
www.trojanpleasure.co.uk.
For the latest from Ministry of Sound clubs, tours,
recordings, products, radio and TV
go to www.ministryofsound.com.
Notes:
Reference to
Liverpool
John
Moores
University
findings online at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3454119.stm
Source: TROJAN condoms
(15/6/06)
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