Men far more 'comfortable' than women with having sex outdoors after Tier 2 indoors meeting ban

One in three Britons say they are “comfortable” with having sex outside – but it’s mainly men, a poll has revealed.

The survey comes after Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions banned couples who live apart from having sex indoors.

A YouGov poll of 1,144 adults, carried out on Monday, found that many Britons have a relaxed attitude to outdoor sex in the wake of the new restrictions.

Strikingly, the results showed a large difference in views on outdoor sex between men and women.

Almost half of males – 49% – are comfortable having sex outside, compared to just 17% of females.

Only 36% of men are uncomfortable with the idea of having outdoor sex, as opposed to 66% of women.

In its Daily Question survey, YouGov asked participants: “Generally speaking, are you comfortable or uncomfortable with the idea of having sex outside?”

Watch: How does England’s three-tier lockdown work?

Overall, 33% said they were comfortable with the idea, while 51% said they were uncomfortable. Another 16% said they didn’t know.

The poll also found that young people are more likely to be uncomfortable with the idea of outdoor sex than older generations.

Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 61% said they were uncomfortable with the idea, compared to 50% for 25-49s, 52% for 50-65s and 48% for those aged 65 and over.

In June, having sex in your own home with someone from outside your household became illegal in England after the government altered its coronavirus legislation.

This was relaxed as lockdown was lifted across most of England in July, but has since been reintroduced and only those with a “reasonable excuse” are permitted to meet in a private place if they live in Tier 2 or Tier 3.

Last week, prime minister Boris Johnson introduced a three-tier system for England in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus.

On Friday, Johnson confirmed that couples living apart in regions with Tier 2 restrictions are not allowed to have sex indoors.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The rules on household mixing in Tier 2 set out that you should mix with your own household only unless you’ve formed a support bubble and that obviously does apply to some couples.”

Having sex in a public place can be illegal if it is witnessed or there’s a reasonable chance at least two members of the public might see it.

Engaging in sexual activity in a private garden could also be prosecuted under outraging public decency, exposure or causing harassment, alarm or distress to others.

Watch: Can you catch coronavirus twice?

Coronavirus: what happened today
Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter