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Do women use dental dams? Safer sex practices of lesbians and other women who have sex with women.
- Publisher
- CSIRO Publishing
- Copyright
- CSIRO
- ISSN
- 1448-5028
- eISSN
- 1449-8987
- DOI
- 10.1071/SH09138
- pmid
- 20465982
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
Background : Dental dams have been distributed to women prisoners for protection against HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in some Canadian and Australian prisons for over a decade. However, we do not know whether they serve any useful public health purpose. Objective : To determine how dental dams are used in women’s prisons in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Method : Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we investigated women’s sexual practices with a focus on how dental dams are used in NSW prisons. Results : Although 71 of the 199 (36%) women reported having had sex with another inmate, with oral sex involved in most encounters, only eight (4%) had ever used a dental dam. The main sources of STI transmission risk among women prisoners were oral sex, manual sex and sharing dildos. Furthermore, sharing razors could also allow the transmission of blood-borne viruses, which could occur during sex in the presence of cuts or menstrual fluid. The high rates of hepatitis B and C among incarcerated women compound this risk. Conclusion : Dental dams are not widely used by women prisoners and we question their utility in women’s prisons. Oral sex is an important risk factor for acquisition of herpes simplex virus type 1, but most women in NSW prisons (89%) are already infected. Condoms and latex gloves may have more use. Condoms could be used as a barrier on shared dildos and sex toys, while latex gloves could be used to protect cut and grazed hands from vaginal and menstrual fluids.
Journal
Sexual Health – CSIRO Publishing
Published: May 14, 2010
Keywords: Australia, cunnilingus, oral sex, prisons.