Forget free love of swinging 60s – today's women have far more sexual partners

YOUNG women today have slept with three times as many men as females of the same age who grew up in the so-called "Swinging Sixties", a study reveals.

Despite the image of free love characterised by a generation growing up in the era of mini skirts, the Rolling Stones and drugs, the average 24-year-old woman in the 1960s had 1.72 sexual partners.

By comparison, today's women of the same age have an average of 5.65 bed partners. This is more than her mother who is likely to have had 3.72 partners.

The study of 3,000 females of all ages by the chain Lloydspharmacy, released today, comes as the chain voices fears of increased sexual health risks for women at a time when screening and better information should be reducing it.

Cervical cancer rates in women under 25 have not decreased over the past decades despite better screening, possibly because of the greater number of partners, said a Lloydspharmacy spokeswoman.

The chain is promoting a campaign for women to get a vaccine against HPV – the human papilloma virus – which is a sexually transmitted infection and a major cause of cervical cancer.

Clare Kerr, Lloydspharmacy's sexual health expert, said: "HPV infections are very common, especially in younger people. If you are sexually active the cervical cancer vaccine is one of the most effective ways to prevent infection with high-risk forms of HPV."

Robert Music, director of Jo's Trust, the cervical cancer charity, said: "One of the biggest challenges we have got in reducing incidence in younger women is to persuade them to take part in cervical cancer prevention programmes.

"For example, there are concerns at uptake numbers of young women taking part in the HPV vaccination catch-up programme whilst currently throughout the UK cervical screening uptake in younger women is very low.

"What is needed is long-term investment in smart, targeted education and awareness programmes that remind women that this is a largely preventable disease and that they can be proactive in reducing their risk."

Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UK's head of policy, said: "The NHS three-dose vaccination programme aims to reach girls aged 12-18 before they have come into contact with the human papilloma virus strains HPV 16 and HPV 18 – the types which are responsible for around 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer.

"We don't yet know how effective the vaccine is in women who have already come into contact with HPV.

"The best way that older women can protect themselves against cervical cancer is through the free NHS cervical screening programme, which has saved 100,000 lives since its introduction in 1988.

"We strongly advise all women to attend cervical screening when invited, even if they have had the HPV vaccination."

In Scotland, girls from around the age of 12 and 13 are offered a vaccine to protect against the human papillomavirus, which causes the majority of cases of cervical cancer, with a catch-up campaign for older pupils.

Last July doctors at the British Medical Association conference argued the programme should be extended to cover boys.

In Scotland cervical screening, which can identify precancerous cell changes, is offered to women aged 20 to 60 while in England women under 25 are not invited for screening.

GENDER ISSUES

IT HAS been the cause of domestic arguments for decades, but now researchers have discovered there really are things women can do better and faster than men… and some they can't.

A series of "three-minute trials" between the sexes also revealed some surprises.

Women are better at tests such as ironing two shirts, threading six needles and making a bed from scratch in the allotted three minutes. But they are also better at negotiating a discount, winning an argument and arranging appointments in the timeframe.

Men are better at changing a wheel and rewiring a plug, but surprised researchers by being faster at changing nappies and pinpointing their location on a map.