|
One in eight women between the ages of 16 and 50 had no sex in the past year while the vast majority had only one partner, says a new report which paints Britain as a largely monogamous if not "sexless" society.
The portrait of Britain's attitude towards sex and relationships was revealed by compelling socio-cultural data from the Office for National Statistics.
Figures also showed that more than one in four women used the "morning-after" pill after forgetting to take the contraceptive pill, suggesting that the "morning-after" pill is increasingly used as a method of contraception despite medical concerns about women taking it frequently.
The fact that so many Britons have no sex is perhaps the most surprising detail, dispelling the widespread belief in record levels of infidelity and promiscuity.
According to the ONS survey, one in six men under 70 had no sexual partners in the past year, while 73 per cent had only one partner and 12 per cent had more than one. For women, seven per cent had more than one.
Dr Edward Morris, a consultant gynaecologist at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, said Britain was behind the rest of Europe in terms of frequency of sexual activity.
"It may be a cultural thing but it's not necessarily how often you are having intercourse but how good it is. Brits tend to survive more on companionship in relationships rather than a very active sex life.
"If you are with someone for a long time and familiar with them you are less likely to feel passionate about them, but your sex life does not depend on frequency but on quality."
The report on sexual health and contraception comes amid growing concern over the "baby gap" – the collapse of birth rates among younger women who put education, career and paying the mortgage before having children.
One study this year said 92,000 babies a year were lost because women delayed motherhood.
It also highlights the increasing trend of couples who do have children to eschew sex as a result of exhaustion and the demands of modern life – which leave women, in particular, with little time or energy. The figures showing that one in eight women had no sex in the last 12 months include married women who had no sex with their husband, and cohabiting women who had no sex with their partner.
A breakdown of the statistics puts women between 16 and 19 who had no sex in the past year, at 36 per cent (for men the figure is 38 per cent). That figure drops to 14 per cent among those aged 20-24 (men, 21 per cent) and nine per cent among the 25- to 29-year-olds (men, 13 per cent) and four per cent among the 30- to 34-year-olds (men, seven per cent).
But after 35, when many couples have one or more children, the "no sex" figure rises again to nine per cent (men 10 per cent), at 40-44 it is 12 per cent (men, nine per cent) and between 45 and 49 it is 14 per cent (men, 11 per cent). For men aged 50-64, the figure is 15 per cent, and for men aged 65-69, it is 29 per cent. The figures only go up to the age of 50 for women, say the report's authors, because the research is essentially about fertility.
Findings presented to the World Congress of Sexology in Paris showed a quarter of British women had sex once a month or less, more than in any other country studied. British women were also the least likely to have sex five times a month.
Only 22 per cent reported enjoying conjugal relations that often, compared to a third each of French, Swiss, German women and 27 per cent of Italians. Half of British women said they had seen a drop in their sex drive recently, and two thirds said they had become less interested in sex over the last five years.
The loss of libido made half feel old and 35 per cent unhappy.
Dr Petra Boynton, a psychologist at University College London, said: "We are constantly being presented with inaccurate data that everyone is 'at it like rabbits' which makes people feel worried. Sex is overhyped in our culture and because we have a more sexualised culture – the media covers sex a lot more in terms of music, and 'sex and lifestyle' are huge commodities - so people think they should be having sex more.
"Also, stress and lifestyle does get in the way of sex and it is seen as a problem rather than a natural response. These are actually quite comforting figures. We are not a nation that sleeps around or takes risks."
| 
