Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LIVERPOOL, England, Oct 14, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Britain's current "sexual health crisis" is the result of one in 10 young people having sex by the time they are 14, says a study.
Changing the behavior of this "promiscuous 10 percent," who have multiple sex partners, "is central to improving sexual health," says Professor Mark Bellis with the Centre for Public Health in Liverpool in North West England.
But these people are all too often ignored, said Bellis who did the study with his colleagues. Their findings appear in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The researchers blamed the problem on sex education not being part of the national curriculum in Britain. They said authorities are scared of offending a sensitive but vocal minority.
"Perhaps a greater level of statutory, pertinent, and timely sex education is now required despite the complaints of a few."
The study also pointed to sexual activity frequently depicted in films and on television but almost always without any reference to sexual health.
The study said everyone needs to be more open about sex, even if it means upsetting those who find open discussions of sex and sexuality difficult to condone.
Copyright 2004 by United Press International.
