Safer Sex
Deciding how you want to be sexual with a partner may be based on many things. The situation itself, your relationship with your partner, your feelings, your own desires and boundaries, and the judgments and expectations of others, all of these influence how you decide to be sexual. Sex can be wonderful, passionate, intimate, and connecting. It can also be complicated by risks like unplanned pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), including HIV. There are 15 million new STI infections each year in the United States.
The good news is that STIs and HIV can be prevented.
There are two questions you might find useful to ask yourself when trying to make decisions about sexuality and your health:
- How do you know what you know? (about STIs and HIV, about your partner)
- How much risk are you really willing to live with?
Sexual risks vary, from activities that have absolutely no risk for HIV/STIs, to activities that are very risky for HIV/STI transmission.
The more you know yourself, what you like and feel comfortable with, and the more you are able to communicate this with your partners, the more successful you will be in creating a healthy and satisfying sexual life.
Safer Sex Brochure (PDF Document)