How much and how often? A new survey lays bare Czechia's sex habits

A new survey from the National Institute of Mental Health (NUDZ) has found that people in Czechia are having sex less often than 10 years ago, but most are satisfied with their sex lives. Taking into account the whole Czech population, people have sex less than once a month on average.

At a Monday press conference revealing some of the results from the NUDZ survey (as part of its CzechSex project), researchers announced that people in long-term relationships have sex an average of almost six times per month across all ages in Czechia. When it comes to both monogamous and polygamous people, NUDZ research shows that the average man had sex with one person in the last month (this figure was at 0.7 for women). 

The data also showed that more than 61 percent of women and over 55 percent of men had experienced sexual problems at one stage in their lives. Roughly 21 percent of women had difficulty reaching orgasm in the past year, according to the survey. Around half of women reported reaching orgasm during sex.

When it comes to viewing pornography, nine in 10 men say they have previously viewed pornography, with a relatively low 4 percent saying they watch it daily. Middle-aged men watch it most often. As for women, 68 percent said they have watched pornography in the past, with just 1 percent saying they watch it every day.

"People aged 18 to 34 are most at risk of pornography addiction (or compulsive sexual behavior disorder related to pornography viewing). In this age group, 5.4 percent of people are at risk," said Anna Ševčíková, a researcher at the Institute for Psychological Research at Masaryk University, at the conference. The majority of Czechs, including both men and women, find it acceptable to watch pornography in long-term relationships.

People living in Czechia also reported their involvement in new sexual activities online. For instance, 12 percent of men and 4 percent of women have engaged in “live sex” or camera-based sex – live video transmission on the internet. Additionally, 17 percent of men and 5 percent of women have yet to try live sex, but express a desire to do so. 

One-third of both men and women have participated in sexting, which involves sending nude photos, at least once in their life.

Unfortunately, the survey also showed that over one in six (17 percent of) women have been forced to have sex by means of threats or violence at some point in their lives. The same has happened to 5 percent of men. 

“Among the most common reasons why victims did not report the situation to the police is failure to recognize the situation as rape,” said NUDZ chief Kateřina Klapilová.

According to the survey, at least 30 percent of women and 17 percent of men have experienced unsolicited contact with sexual intent (for example, groping), equating to 1.6 million women and 877,000 men.

The survey was based on a sample of exactly 6,669 people of all ages. NUDZ says it will release a detailed report from its study next year.