United Kingdom: Why Sex Advice Is Not Reaching the "Promiscuous 10 Percent"

Last Thursday, public-health experts claimed that a reluctance to engage with the "promiscuous 10 percent" in society is at the heart of a sexual-health crisis. Because of the protests of a minority who oppose education and discussion about sex, according to experts, rarely are men or women seen with condoms on TV, in films, or in magazine ads. Meanwhile, sexual behavior is regularly depicted on television without a sexual health dimension.

Although chlamydia rates are rising and syphilis has returned, the health issues associated with having more than one partner are not addressed, according to Mark Bellis, director of the Centre for Public Health in Liverpool, and colleagues. In their article in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Bellis and colleagues said because of a fear of enraging people who opposed open discussion of sexual issues, especially in schools, "the promiscuous 10 percent" -- who most need education -- are being neglected.

Bellis and coauthors define "the promiscuous 10 percent" as those "who have multiple sexual partners," who "may have started sex early in life." The article said that by age 14, one in 10 young people have begun having sex, and that those who start young are less likely to use condoms, are more likely to become pregnant earlier and to have more sexual partners. Among adults, the researchers noted, approximately one in 10 women and one in eight men have had at least two partners concurrently in the past year.

Bellis and colleagues claimed that the failure to address this sexually active core results in 10 percent of sexually active adults suffering from STDs, and 13 percent of the population having visited a genito-urinary medical clinic, often the first place sexually active patients get relevant sexual health information. The article, "The Promiscuous 10%?" appeared in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (2004;58(11):889-892).

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