Global Sex Survey unveils Interesting Facts

The conservative political, religious, and cultural forces prevalent around the world are doing more harm than good to citizens’ health, highlights the global survey on sexual behaviour.

Interesting facts crept in as the first ever global survey to understand human sexual behaviour conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK concluded.

When more than 340 million people globally acquire Sexually Transmitted Infections anually and about 80 million women end up with unwanted pregnancies, the study to understand the human sexual activity became a dire necessity.

The study conducted across 59 countries of the world, analysed sexual behaviour of more than one million men and women.

Exciting information regarding age at first sexual experience, married life, contraceptive usage, number of sexual partners, etc was collected from randomly selected sample base.

Tthe study found that married people have the most sex. While, sexual activity in young, bachelors and spinsters was reported to be patchy. Married people contributed heavily to the sample base.

On the other hand, marriage considered being a safeguard for sexual health, research head, Kay Wellings warned that as most married women are ineffective in negotiating safe sex for themselves, they are more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

Unlike expected, the age at first sexual experience and the number of young people having sex saw no decline from the figures posted after the 1970 research. However, more men were now practicing early sex than figures quoted in previous studies, reported the new survey. Also, men were more open to multiple partners and premarital sex than compared to women counterparts.

According to researchers, the greatest challenge to sexual-health promotion in almost all countries came from orthodox and conservative practices.

Developed countries, where multiple sexual partner incidence is highest, recorded the least cases of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies, categorically, because of the highest contraceptive usage.

These results, therefore, point towards the religious and social factors that propagate against contraceptive usage, legal abortions and family planning, thus, contributing towards sexual ill-health globally.

According to the survey results, social factors such as poverty, mobility and gender equality are more related to sexual ill-health than promiscuity.

With both developed and developing countries reporting a gradual increase in the marriage age, the age of losing verginity also shifted north. Fewer people were now losing their verginity before 16 years. But analysis reported a considerable variation across countries.

Data analysis revealed that HIV still topped the charts in Sexually Transmitted Diseases, but researchers highlighted that other sexually transmitted infections must not be neglected.

In conclusion, the study brought to notice the vital requirement of good reproductive health. It is essential for the economic growth, development and the evolution of society as a whole.

Experts feel that the results of the study will be useful not only in dispelling popular myths about sexual behaviour, but in shaping policies that will help improve sexual health across the world.