Unsafe sex is sex that allows sexually transmitted infections (STDs) to be passed on to another person, or sex that could result in an unwanted pregnancy.

Some people may be less careful if they've been drinking, and others may forget in the heat of the moment.

Safer sex means sexual contact that does not involve any exchange of blood, semen or vaginal fluids.

• It means being safer from STDs and safer from unwanted pregnancy.
• It means covering up parts of the body that could be infectious.

• It also means that sexual contact happens in a caring and respectful way, is consented to and no one feels pressured or forced into sexual contact.

Safer activities can include kissing, touching, cuddling and using condoms for sexual intercourse.

Philo is correct in saying that there is no such things as 100% safe sex.

The best way to have safe sex is to be in a monogamous relationship (only one partner) where neither partner has sex outside that relationship and are both free of any STDs.

In an ideal world this is what would happen. We don’t live in an ideal world. Therefore, at the very least, we can take appropriate measures to ensure that sex is as safe as possible.

I freely admit to having many sexual partners, however the only time I contracted anything was during my monogamous relationship with my husband who brought home genital crabs. Ex-hubby was not monogamous and I paid the price. Consequently I have always taken steps to making sex as safe as possible. And am alive and well today and free of any STD’s as a result.

We should all be careful that we do not become a pawn of the media. If we look at the first article to which Yabby referred at http://www.unesco.org/courier/2000_07/uk/apprend2.htm, and we look beyond the hype, we actually see the reason for the reduction in teenage pregnancies in the last line, which is “Face the facts. We have the lowest number of teenage mothers [in Europe], and Dutch students do not start having sex at a younger age than their foreign counterparts.”. It is true that, if people of a younger age are not having sex, then there is a reduction in teenage pregnancies, and further, a reduction in multiple pregnancies per teenager.

So, if younger Dutch people are having sex at a much later age ... where does condoms come in to this?

Yabby is correct to say that education is required. We need to educate teenagers about the problems of sex before marriage.

The only consistent world-wide trend in reducing AIDS is the reduction in the number of sexual partners (as per the Holland example. I am glad Yabby mentioned that one; it makes my case beautifully). Throwing condoms at people while saying to them "practise safe sex" is like throwing petrol onto a fire. Is this seriously the only reasponse we can give? Or maybe we should speak to those who care for over one quarter of all the AIDS patients in the world ... the Catholic Church (this is also in response to the second link, or should I say "news article", that Yabby gave which was quite adamantly anti-Catholic):

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0098.html

"20 years into the pandemic there is no evidence that more condoms leads to less AIDS," or "over a lifetime, it is the number of sexual partners [that matter].condom levels are found to be non-determining of HIV infection levels."

Or, maybe you just want to hear from the First Lady of the Republic of Uganda about how they constructed their program to defeat AIDS:

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0106.html

"Giving young people condoms is tantamount to giving them a license to go out and be promiscuous; it leads to certain death."

This is taken from the article regarding the Dutch experience:

'“parents in the Netherlands take a very pragmatic approach. They know their children are going to have sex, and they are ready to prepare them and to speak with them about their responsibility. This is the key word,” says Mischa Heeger of the Rutgers Foundation. Contraceptives are widely used. According to a NISSO study, 85 per cent of sexually active young people use a contraceptive, and the pill is freely available. The average age of a youth’s first sexual intercourse is 17.7 years.'

Young people in Holland are taught the facts on sexuality, without recourse to religious scare tactics, and encouraged to act in a responsible manner. And 'contraceptives are widely used'.

This is not hype, this is the approach taken in Holland and it works.

You have not commented on my previous post, Paul. Perhaps because it does not fit in with your preconceived religious beliefs.

On a personal basis, during my first marriage I was very keen and so was my wife and she also got pregnant very easily when that was our intention. When we didn't want another child [which of course was almost all the time], we relied on condoms for the first several years. Not one failure in all that time. Maybe we were just lucky LOL!

Goodness knows what would have happened to us if we had been so brainwashed as to have relied on the so-called rhythm method.

Philo and Paulb, what you guys don’t seem to understand, is the minds of teenagers! They are hormonal, rebellious and think they are invincible. Your sanctimonious
preaching is not going to change that, in fact it will just encourage them to do the opposite.

What Holland has shown is that if you treat them a bit more
like adults, empower them with information of all sorts and then let them make their own more informed decisions, they will in fact be quite sensible. It disproves the claims of the religious lobby, ie they won’t all go out and fornicate like mad, as you seem to fear. Condoms, their method of proper use etc are openly discussed in Holland. According to Paulb’s theories, these kids should all be dying of aids.
Clearly that is not the case!

The grim reaper campaign worked extremely well in Australia in educating a lot of people quickly. Stds went down etc. But that’s some years ago now, the present generation have heard nothing about it, we are back to
lack of proper sex education in Aussie schools, no wonder that std rates are climbing once again. The religious lobby can be blamed for that, its them who are holding up the proper education of Aussie kids in that dept.

Paulb, nobody is better at spin then the Vatican, I grant you that! Relying on their websites for unbiased information would be like relying on Dracula to run the bloodbank :)

Museveni’s wife, a fanatical anti condom fundie, is not the first wife to earbash her husband long enough for him to
change tack, as the Economist mentions. Fact is condoms were freely handed out, even to schoolkids in Uganda, until
2003. Things changed when the US, with Barbara Bush leading the charge, provided 230 million$ as part of the new funding promoting abstinence. 30 million condoms were then left in Uganda stores unused. Since then, aids has crept up again in Uganda.

Condoms work, not as the sole solution, but as part of the solution agains aids. The Vatican ignores that at its peril.

Last night I attended the Watofo childrens choir comprised of children aged from 6 - 13 years. All these children are orphans from parents destroyed by AIDS or the war in Uganda. When you witness the hope and career opportunities given them by Christian Compassion you just have to say, "Thank God for the compassion of Christians!"

These young children all lifted from a life in the streets scavenging for food or a life of crime and prostitution or slavery. They tell their stories of their past dispair and their new hope now to follow Christ and be doctors, engineers, pilots, nurses etc. They have learned first hand the results of promiscuity. see: www.watofo.com

YngNLuvnIt,
I managed to see the Watoto Children Choir. Great inspiring message how lives are changed with love and hope. Sorry I hit the wrong key in giving the website in my previous post, it is www.watoto.com