KEY POINTS:
Young women are having sex younger and more often, a Youth and Condoms survey has found.
The results have prompted the National party to warn they are putting themselves at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The survey, by condom company Durex and Family Planning, asked 554 16- to 25-year-olds about their sex lives.
National's Youth Affairs spokeswoman Nicki Wagner said the number of young New Zealanders with STDs was "spiralling", with gonorrhoea cases up by 52 per cent and chlamydia up by almost 28 per cent.
In the new survey, 20 per cent of the respondents said they had sex at age 15 or younger, and almost twice as many young women as men said they have had more than 10 sexual partners -- 13 and seven per cent respectively.
Yet women were less likely than men to use a condom, with nearly half surveyed saying they did not always use one.
"They are playing Russian roulette with their fertility and need strong and effective public health messages," Ms Wagner said.
- NZPA
* An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested the STD finding was part of the study. That is the National Party's interpretation of the results.
