Her conclusion is startling: "Now, nearly 40 years on, it would seem that although so much has changed, attitudes to sex are subjugating women every bit as much as the old-fashioned misogyny of the past."

She argues that sexual promiscuity among young women 'is largely the result of peer pressure and what they perceive as society's expectations': "Take, as one example, the daughter of a friend of mine. Alice told me that although only 22 years old she has already had 17 lovers.

Alice explains: 'I went to private day school in London and lost my virginity at 15 - one of the oldest girls in my class to do so. My friends would compare notes on Monday mornings and I started to feel as though I was a throwback.

'Being a virgin implied no one wanted me and I felt anxious and unattractive. So much so that I decided to sleep with a boy who'd been pursuing me for ages. Then, one wasn't enough and I began sleeping around.

'It didn't make me feel good and I would find myself in tears after yet another night with someone I didn't know well. It was years before I realised that real love begins with friendship, with shared values and respect.' "

The Christian Church in the West faces the task of demonstrating that real love is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ and that relationships of shared values and respect are rooted in His saving truth.

---Julian Mann is vicar of Oughtibridge Parish Church, South Yorkshire, UK. His weblog is Cranmer's Curate