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Women are having sex in India at an earlier age than men

Women are having sex in India at an earlier age than men
Thelife3 min read

  • 90% of Indians are indulging in sex before they turn 30.
  • 10% of women in the age group of 25-49 had sex before 15 and 38% before 18.
  • 11% of unmarried men and 2% of unmarried women in the 15-24 age-group acknowledged having had sex before marriage.
Sex, that thing that happens when two flowers collide in Bollywood movies, is something 90% of Indians are indulging in before they turn 30, according to a study by The National Family Health Survey 2015-16.

In fact, it seems people are having sex at a rather ripe age in India, especially women - 10% of women in the age group of 25-49 had sex before 15 and 38% before 18. Now, some may consider this a sign of forward thinking, after all, Indians are the ones who came up with the Kamasutra. However, it is sadly quite the opposite. Women primarily get married off in India much earlier than men, ergo the age at which they have sex is significantly lower.

The survey gathered information on population, health and nutrition from the entire nation using a Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing technique in which the respondent or interviewer uses a computer to answer the questions.

While the survey is meant to honestly reflect the ground reality, chances of people falsely reporting their sexual encounters is a tad higher in India particularly because sex as a topic is still taboo in the country.

A certain obvious trend that one can’t help but notice is how women end up drawing the short straw because in most cases sexual intercourse is being thrust upon them because they get married at a younger age. In fact, 26.8% women in the age group of 20-24 years married before they turned 18.

Age, sex and sexual intercourse

According to the survey, the median age at first sexual intercourse is 19.1 years for women (age-group 25-49). By age 20, 58% of women age have had sexual intercourse in the same age-group. In contrast, men in the same age group initiate sexual intercourse at age 24.3 years on average, five years older than women.

One percent of men (age-group 25-49) first had sexual intercourse before age 15 and 7% had sexual intercourse before age 18. By 25, 55% of men have had sex.

Age, sex, marriage and sexual intercourse

The study compared the median age at first intercourse with the median age at first marriage to gauge whether respondents engage in sex before marriage and the results were quite predictable, most respondents claimed they only had sex after marriage - the median age at first marriage for women (age-group 25-49) was 19.0 years, which was almost the same as the median age at first sexual intercourse, 19.1 years.

However, only 11% of unmarried men and 2% of unmarried women in the 15-24 age-group acknowledged having had sex before marriage. In a nation where unmarried couples are literally flogged for hugging in public, this result is hardly surprising.

Urban-rural divide

Based on the study, urban women tend to have sex almost two years later than their rural counterparts in the age-group 25-49 The median age of an urban woman’s first sexual encounter is 20.3 years as against 18.6 years for women in rural areas.

Educational divide

The study also found that educated women had sex for the first time later than uneducated women. There is a gap of 5.3 years in the median age of first sex between those with no schooling and those with 12 or more years of schooling in the 25-49 age-group. Women having 12 or more years of schooling marry much later than others.

The median age for first marriage for women (age 25-49) increases from 17.2 years for women with no schooling to 22.7 years for women with 12 or more years of schooling.

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