Teenage girls suffer sexual, physical abuse by boyfriends

London: Nine out of ten young teenage girls have been in an intimate relationship with a boy, according to a survey.

The disturbing research also found that a third of girls aged 13 to 17 have been sexually assaulted by a boyfriend.

And a quarter of girls aged 13 to 17 had suffered physical violence at their hands.

The researchers found that those in relationships with older boys were particularly likely to have suffered, with three quarters saying they had suffered sexual or physical abuse.

The findings, which highlight how fast childhood innocence disappears, have led to calls for schools to help girls trapped in abusive relationships - and to tell them that violence and pressure to have sex is wrong.

The wide-ranging survey found that almost 90 per cent of the girls questioned had been in an intimate relationship - that means any form of sexual contact, not necessarily sexual intercourse. Of these, a sixth said they had been pressured into sexual intercourse - and one in 16 said they had been raped.

In spite of decades of feminism, girls said they felt they had to put up with the abuse because they felt scared, guilty or feared they would lose their boyfriend.

More than 1,300 youngsters across the country were interviewed for the research, which was carried out by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the University of Bristol.

One of the girls, named only as Sian, said: "I only went out with him for a week. And then, because I didn't want to have sex, he just started picking on me and hitting me."

Another girl, Tanisha, said of her boyfriend: "He bit me on the face. It was horrible, really disgusting."