YouthNet launches Sex Factor report
As many as one in three 16 to 24-year-olds (32%) has had a drunken one-night stand they went on to regret, indicates a new report launched on Monday (23, February) by young people's charity, YouthNet.
The 'Sex Factor' report presents the attitudes towards sex and sexual health of more than 2,000 16 to 24-year-olds and found that a high proportion had taken part in potentially dangerous sexual activity when drunk.
A third (32%) of young people surveyed said they had had unprotected sex whilst under the influence of alcohol, one in five (22%) said that they had gone home with a 'stranger' and over one in 10 (15%) said that they had invited a stranger home with them.
Many young people also expressed disappointment at their 'first time' with one in three sexually active16 to 24-year-olds (28%) saying that they were unhappy about how they lost their virginity. Choosing the wrong person (75%) being too young (40%) and being in the wrong place (40%) were the top three reasons cited for this unhappiness in the survey.
Almost all of the 16 to 24-year-olds surveyed were sexually active (92%) and more than a third (37%) of those said that they had first had sex under the legal age of 16, of these, 3% were aged 12 or younger.
TheSite.org relationship expert, Matt Whyman, says: "Alcohol lowers inhibitions whatever your age, but drink combined with little or no sexual experience can mean dramatic disappointment and regret for young people, or more serious consequences like unplanned pregnancy, STIs or even sexual abuse.
"It's really important that young people take the time to learn about the reality of sex when they're sober, to help them get a real idea of what the risks are, and take steps to make sex safer."
More than half (55%) of young people who completed the survey, agreed that they worried about contracting an STI, and those who had sought advice and information, were most likely to use the internet to search for it, with one in five (22%) respondents saying they had done in the past.
TheSite.org is the online guide to life for 16 to 24-year-olds and offers advice and guidance on everything from sex and relationships to work and study or drink and drugs.
Young people with questions about sex and relationships - or anything else - can receive a personalised response within three working days at www.TheSite.org/askTheSite.
Download the Sex Factor report