STD Prevention: Behavior Change

Safer Sex - Historical Notes

The first “safer sex” brochure (24 pages) especially written for heterosexuals and stapled to the centerfold of “Penthouse” magazine, German edition, April 1986. (Click on picture)

Safe Sex for Everyone
Today we know that AIDS is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which can be transmitted from an infected to an uninfected person through blood, semen, and vaginal fluids. No infection occurs as long as the exchange of such body fluids is avoided. Therefore, all “safer sex” recommendations boil down to this simple advice:

During sexual contact, avoid the exchange of blood, semen, and vaginal fluid!

Simple as this advice appears at first glance, it is not so easily followed. It carries a number of implications that are not immediately apparent to everyone. Furthermore, the advice is now given to more and more people, because “safer sex” helps prevent not only AIDS but also many other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Some of these were formerly rare but have now become common, especially among young people. These diseases, in turn, increase the risk of contracting AIDS.
The following sections will discuss these issues in detail.