性传播疾病的预防：行为的改变
STD Prevention: Behavior Change

节欲-预防策略——节欲

尽量地促发人们（尤其青少年）的节制意愿和施加外界的压力，至少短时间里能够使他们避免发生性接触。可是，让绝大多数的男男女女们每天节制性行为是不现实的。国家和国际的预防项目可能力图促进节欲，但是也必须明白的是光有节欲是不够的。确确实实，在许多国家里，年轻女子和妇女没有被置于节欲者的地位，因为在她们的社会，她们没有地位和无能力拒绝其男性性伴的要求。鉴于此，尤其在发展中国家，普遍地提高妇女的社会地位将会更有效地帮助预防性传播疾病策略的实施。 

同时，在性别平等还没有普遍实现以前，在面对全世界每一个国家里（人们）持续发生的高危行为时，性传播疾病的预防项目必须向这个最大的危机宣战，这就意味着集中精力持续地推行预防性传播疾病的第二个策略：让人们的行为模式发生改变，实行“安全性行为”。如果忽视了全球的这个现实需要，将是不负责任的行为。

促进男女的社会、经济和法律平等的两个国际机构
上：联合国。下：经济合作与发展组织。

Two international organizations promoting the social, economic, and legal equality of women and men.Top: United Nations. Bottom: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
(点击图标   / Click on logos.)

Abstinence - Abstinence as Prevention Policy

Given sufficient personal motivation and outside pressure, some people, especially teenagers, are able to abstain from sexual contact, at least for a while. However, the great majority of females and males prove every day that, for them, abstinence is not a realistic option. National and international prevention programs may very well try to promote abstinence, but they must also know that this is not enough. Indeed, in many countries young girls and women are in no position to be abstinent, since their societies render them powerless to resist the demands of their male partners. For this reason, the general empowerment of women, especially in developing countries, would greatly help prevention efforts.

In the meantime, it would be irresponsible to ignore today’s reality: Until gender equality has become universal, and in the face of continuing risk behavior in every country of the globe, STD prevention programs must fight the greatest present danger, and that means concentrating on the remaining second strategy of behavior change:
“Safer sex”.