Antidepressants Blog

HELPING TO PROTECT HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF SEXUALLY ACTIVE PEOPLE AND THEIR SEXUAL PARTNERS

Being sexually active brings with it many responsibilities. This includes helping to protect ourselves and our romantic partners, both physically and emotionally. Three of the most important ways to attend to each other’s health and welfare are to prevent sexual abuse, to prevent sexually transmitted infections, and to prevent unintended pregnancy.

Preventing Sexual Abuse

An important part of being sexually healthy and responsible is never forcing anyone to engage in any sexual activity that she or he doesn’t want to do or hasn’t consented to. People who do this are sexual abusers. Some people may even try to force themselves on people who are young or on those who find it difficult to defend themselves. Often sexual abusers are well known to the people they hurt. They may be their friends. They may even be members of their families.

Sexual abuse is not limited to forcing someone to have sexual intercourse. It also includes unwanted touching, fondling, watching, talking, and giving baths, douches, or enemas. And it includes forcing someone to look at one’s sex organs. It happens whenever sexual privacy is not respected.

When someone is forced to have sexual intercourse, it is called rape. If someone’s husband, friend, or date forces him or her to have sexual intercourse, it is called acquaintance rape. If people within the same family have sexual intercourse, it is called incest. Sexual abuse, rape, acquaintance rape, and incest are all serious crimes that are punishable under law.

Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infection and Unwanted Pregnancy

Not only do we have to be sure that all our sexual activity is consensual, we also need to protect ourselves and our sex partners from sexually transmitted infection and unintended pregnancy. Half of the 31 million women aged 13 to 44 in the United States are at risk of unintended pregnancy.

More than half of the 6.3 million pregnancies that occur in the United States every year are unintended. Forty-four percent of these end in abortion, 43 percent in birth, 13 percent in miscarriage.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are spread through sexual contact, including vaginal, anal, and oral intercourse. Some can be spread through touching and kissing. Approximately 12 million new cases of STIs are diagnosed each year in the United States. Most of these infections have dangerous consequences and require professional medical treatment. Some can cause sterility. Some increase the risk of getting certain cancers. And others, such as HBV (hepatitis В virus), syphilis, and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), can be fatal.

Nobody is immune to sexually transmitted infections. But most people who have one don’t know it because they don’t notice the symptoms or they don’t have any symptoms. Millions of people don’t know they’re infected until serious and often permanent damage has occurred or they pass the infection to someone else.

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• THE HARMONIOUS COUPLE – SEXUAL HARMONY (ESSENCE OF GOOD SEXUALITY)
• GAMES FOR ABSTINENT COUPLES – GAME 5: MYSTERY LOVER (PART 5)
• GAMES FOR POLITICALLY OR MORALLY CORRECT COUPLES – GAME 1: POLITICALLY CORRECT SEX (PART 4)
• GAMES FOR ANGRY COUPLES – GAME 4: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (PART 2)
• GAMES FOR IMPULSIVE COUPLES – GAME 5: ONE-NIGHT STAND (PART 4)
• TESTING: NEW TECHNIQUES TO DETECT TRICHOMONAS
• HIV VIRUS: WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
• STD GENITAL WARTS: HOW PAP SMEAR RESULTS ARE REPORTED
• BARRIER METHODS FOR MEN OR WOMEN PERFORMING ORAL-GENITAL SEX ON A FEMALE PARTNER OR ORAL-ANAL SEX ON ANY PARTNER
• WHAT TO EXPECT DURING AN STD EXAMINATION