There is now a crisis in the sexual health of young people.
A leading expert on sexual behaviour, Professor Kaye Wellings, commented on the marked change in attitudes to sex - especially among young women - that has occurred in the last decade. 'Women now have twice as many sexual partners as they did ten years ago. Back in 1990, women were quite censorious about one-night stands. That is not the case now. And people are reporting more sexual activity, having more sexual partners and having sex earlier than in the past. We are seeing an explosion of sexual life.'
Coinciding with the increase in casual sex has been an explosion in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among young people. In the last seven years the number of young women infected with chlamydia has trebled, and the numbers infected with gonorrhoea and genital herpes have doubled.
