A new study reveals 16-24 year olds are casual about sex and, more worryingly, about making that sex safe.

The research reveals that while many young people in Britain are happily sowing their wild oats a shocking number still have sex without a condom, despite HIV and AIDS topping their list of worries when it comes to sex.

Unprotected

The study, commissioned by The Body Shop and MTV Networks UK & Ireland, reveals 63% of sexually active 16-24s admit to having had unprotected sex while a third of these have had unprotected sex with two or more partners.

It appears that women aged 16-24 in the UK still feel that it is the man's responsibility to carry a condom, with only 15% saying that they carry one.

While many young people believe HIV will never touch their lives, globally over 40 million people live with HIV and AIDS. Shockingly, half of all new HIV infections are among young adults under 25 - it is estimated every 15 seconds a person aged 15-24 becomes infected with HIV/AIDS.

"The sex date"

The research unveiled that more than half (53%) of 16-24s say that they have had sex with someone whom they are not dating, and 56% say they would bed their date on or before the third date - the third date now becoming commonly known as "the sex date".

Campaign

The Body Shop and MTV have launched Get Lippy, a campaign to raise awareness of HIV and Aids amongst 15-24 year olds. A Limited Edition Guarana Lip Butter is on sale in The Body Shop to raise funds for the Staying Alive Foundation which runs HIV and AIDS education projects.

Young are more liberal

It seems the younger generation is now at ease with having sex at a younger age and is becoming more liberal regarding the numbers of sexual partners.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of 16 to 19 year-olds say it is acceptable to have slept with more than five people by the age of 21, compared to only 40% of people in their early 30s.

The survey also found:

• 24% of 16-24 year olds say that they could have sex with someone they didn't know or trust


• 22% 16 -24 year olds have lost their virginity before the age of 16


• 22% of 16-24 year olds think sex is merely a physical act


• 20% of 16-24s have had six or more sexual partners

So, while young people are aware of the dangers and are concerned, they are failing to protect themselves or their partners.

Toby Morgan of The Body Shop commented: "It is vital that we continue to educate and motivate young people to protect themselves against infection. By partnering with MTV our goal is to communicate prevention messages to help young people in understand that AIDS is an issue that affects them."

What can we do to change the attitude of young people? Join the discussion.