Three percent of Bermuda's 11-year-old children are sexually active, according to shocking results of a survey conducted in the Island's schools.

The news came yesterday at the same time as a warning that young people appear to be contracting potentially deadly HIV while still in their teenage years.

Workers at the frontline of the crisis said last night that the news comes as no surprise, and called for tougher tactics to address the problem.

"People are engaging in multiple sexual partners and inappropriate behaviour with reference to sexual freedoms. There are no boundaries and the moral standard of self respect is declining," warned Michelle Wade, director of Teen Services, which conducted the school survey in late 2004.

Youngsters aged between 11 and 18 from the majority of Bermuda's middle and high schools responded to the questionnaire, which revealed some to be having sex before even hitting their teens.

A total of 83 11-year-old girls were asked whether they were sexually active, with three percent answering yes. Three percent of the 29 boys of that age who responded also confirmed they were having sex. "Yes, it's a low percentage, but it should not be any percentage at all," said Ms Wade. "If people realise that this is happening they are keeping it hush hush. I don't know that this is being referred to the agencies."

As has previously reported, there were three times more cases of under-age girls becoming pregnant during 2004 than in the previous year. Ms Wade said that the prevalence of under-age sex and the problems it leads to must be considered in the context of wider social issues.

"This is not just about 11-year-olds being sexually active. People are living in cramped conditions and young people are seeing things they shouldn't see. This survey result is not out of the blue," she said. "Some young people are not looking at the risk of being too sexually free and there are drugs and alcohol fuelling the freedom to behave that way."

She spoke out after Chief Medical Officer John Cann revealed that of the 11 people on the Island who were diagnosed with HIV last year ? the virus that can lead to AIDS ? three fell into the 20-29 year age group. "This raises concerns that these people may have contracted HIV in their teenage years. We have not as a rule had them that young (before) so that's been a bit of a trend. It's usually one or two people each year in that age bracket. It's gone up to three, although we are dealing with small numbers for 2005," he said. Nonetheless, the number of cases of AIDS has been steadily declining in recent years.

Carolyn Armstrong, director of the S.T.A.R charity and ministry organisation (Supportive Therapy for persons with AIDS and their Relatives) said teenagers and young adults are failing to heed warnings about the dangers of unprotected sex. The lack of concern about the consequences of irresponsible sexual behaviour reaches across every section of Bermuda society, she warned, from those living a street lifestyle to young corporate Bermuda.

"We should expect to see more of these young people being diagnosed with HIV. We are getting calls to our office from young professionals who have found themselves at after-hours cocktail parties and the next morning not remembering what took place but knowing they were out there having unprotected sex," she said. S.T.A.R, which was founded almost 20 years ago to support AIDS victims, has a long history of running education programmes in schools, prisons and hospitals and plans to step these up in future. "The message we want to send out to people is that it is about the choices they make. We have always been concerned with young people, many of whom still think themselves invincible," said Mrs. Armstrong. "One of the things that we know is that teenagers will listen to other teenagers so we are training them to talk to their peers. We cannot let up. We want to get out there especially after Spring Break as in the summertime on our Island it is fun, fun and fun but we need to be real about it. ''