性交可以是人的一生中最健康和最令人愉快的体验。不幸的是，它有时也被认为是痛苦、苦楚甚至死亡的根源。有一个戏剧性的事例就是通过性接触接连地传播危险的传染病。自从通过适当的预防，这种传染病能够容易地避免后，这就尤其使人感到烦恼了。至少，这些通过性接触的传染病中有一种病（乙型肝炎）是能够通过接种疫苗而预防的，其他的这类疾病则通过“安全”性行为也能够被预防的。一些人在性的方面能够坚持禁欲并且由此规避所有的风险。另有一些人一生维持仅有的一个性伴的专一性关系。尽管如此，这个性伴可能秘密地有了其他的性接触。真实的情形是，非常多的男男女女既不禁欲也不性专一。就这些事例来说，坚持“安全性行为”习惯，或至少一贯和正确使用避孕套（安全套）能够提供安全保护。

可是，因为多种多样的原因，许多人未能使用任何保护措施。一些人有个人的禁忌，但是也可能有客观的阻碍：许多男男女女们未获得该享有的有关预防性传播疾病的知识教育或者被误导，另一些人们不能得到性传播疾病的检测和不能获得医学治疗。对某些人来说，安全套仍然太贵，或者获得安全套有困难，甚至难以获得它们。最后，在某些社会里，只要男性拒绝合作，女性在保护自身方面仍显得无能为力。所以，性传播疾病不仅是一个医学疾病，而且是一个很大的社会、文化、甚至政治问题。

Sexual intercourse can be among the healthiest and most enjoyable experiences in life. Unfortunately, it is also sometimes allowed to become the source of misery, suffering, and even death. One dramatic example is the continuing spread of dangerous infections through sexual contact. This is especially disturbing since, with appropriate precautions, such infections can easily be avoided. At least one of them can be prevented by vaccination (Hepatitis B) and the others by “safe” sexual behavior. Some people are able to remain sexually abstinent and thus escape all risks. Others live in an exclusive relationship with only one partner. Still, the partner may secretly have other sexual contacts. Indeed, very many females and males are neither abstinent nor sexually exclusive. In these cases, the practice of “safer sex”, or at least the consistent and correct use of a condom, can provide protection.

However, for a variety of reasons, many people fail to use any protection. Some have personal inhibitions, but there may also be objective obstacles: Many women and men are uninformed or misinformed about the STDs and their prevention, others cannot get tested and cannot get medical treatment. For still others, condoms are too expensive, or they are difficult to get or even unavailable. Finally, in some societies, females are kept powerless to protect themselves as long as the males refuse to cooperate. Therefore, STDs are not only a medical, but also a larger social and cultural, indeed, a political problem.