NEW DELHI: Only two per cent of unmarried young adult women had sex in the last year compared to 13.4 per cent of men. Over 77 per cent of 23-24 years-old men never had sex compared to 95.3 percent of women of the same age, according to the latest findings of the NFHS-5 survey.
The National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) also showed that more unmarried women practice safe sex than men. The survey, which studied single men and women in the age group of 15-24 years, showed that 1.3 per cent of single girls in the age group of 15-19 had sex in the last 12 months preceding the survey, compared to 4.4 per cent of men.
The survey, which studied over 6 lakh households in 707 districts, also showed teenage boys are sexually more active as compared to girls. While 0.9 percent of teenage girls had sex as compared to 2.9 percent of adolescent boys, it was 1.9 percent for single women, who had sexual intercourse in the past 12 months in the age group of 18-19 years, the figure stood at 6.6 per cent for single men in the same age group.
For unmarried women in the age group of 20-24, the percentage stood at 1.9 percent compared to 11.8 percent of single men who had sex. Similarly, 1.9 percent of women in the age group of 20-22 had sex, compared to men at 10.9 per cent.
The survey, which also studied condom use among unmarried men and women, clearly found women went for safe sex compared to single men — whether they were in their teens or adults. In the age group of 15-19 years, only 57 per cent of men used condoms, compared to 61.2 percent of women.
The usage of condoms went up slightly for men in the age group of 20-24 years. While nearly 64 percent of single men practiced safe sex, 65.3 per cent of women in the same age group used condoms.
The NFHS-5, which conducted the survey in this category for the first time in India, also showed that more women were virgins compared to men in the age group of 15-24 years in India.
Over 97 per cent of single girls in the age group of 15-17 and 15-19 were virgins, as compared to single boys, who were more active sexually in this age group. While 93.8 per cent of boys in the age group of 15-19 were virgins, the figure went up to 96.1 for boys in the age group of 15-17 years. Similarly, over 95 percent of women in the age group of 20-24 were virgins, compared to men, which stood at around 80 percent.
