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Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV.〔(Compact Oxford English Dictionary ), Oxford University Press, 2009, Accessed 23 September 2009〕 It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions, especially forgoing condom use. Some sources prefer the term ''safer sex'' to more precisely reflect the fact that these practices reduce, but do not always completely eliminate, the risk of disease transmission. The term ''sexually transmitted infections'' (''STIs'') has gradually become preferred over ''sexually transmitted diseases'' (''STDs'') among medical sources, as it has a broader range of meaning; a person may be infected, and may potentially infect others, without showing signs of disease. Safe sex practices became more prominent in the late 1980s as a result of the AIDS epidemic. Promoting safe sex is now one of the aims of sex education. Safe sex is regarded as a harm reduction strategy aimed at reducing risks. The risk reduction of safe sex is not absolute; for example, the reduced risk to the receptive partner of acquiring HIV from HIV-seropositive partners not wearing condoms compared to when they wear them is estimated to be about a four to fivefold.〔Vittinghoff E, Douglas J, Judson F, McKirnan D, MacQueen K, Buchbinder SP. (1999). (Per-contact risk of human immunodeficiency virus transmission between male sexual partners ). Am J Epidemiol. 150(3):306–11. PMID 10430236〕 Safe sex is effective in avoiding STIs only if both sexual partners agree on it. During sexual penetration while using a condom, for example, the male could intentionally pull off the condom and continue penetrating without the receptive partner's notice or consent. This is a high-risk behavior that betrays trust, and it may spread an STI. Although some safe sex practices can be used as birth control (contraception), most forms of contraception do not protect against STIs; likewise, some safe sex practices, like partner selection and low-risk sex behavior, are not effective forms of contraception but should be considered before engaging in any form of intercourse to reduce risk. ==Terminology== The term ''safer sex'' in Canada and the United States has gained greater use by health workers, reflecting that risk of transmission of sexually transmitted infections in various sexual activities is a continuum. The term ''safe sex'' is still in common use in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Although ''safe sex'' is used by individuals to refer to protection against both pregnancy and HIV/AIDS or other STI transmissions, the term was born in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is believed that the term of ''safe sex'' was used in the professional literature in 1984, in the content of a paper on the psychological effect that HIV/AIDS may have on homosexual men. The term was related with the need to develop educational programs for the group considered at risk, homosexual men. A year later, the same term appeared in an article in ''The New York Times.'' This article emphasized that most specialists advised their AIDS patients to practice safe sex. The concept included limiting the number of sexual partners, using prophylactics, avoiding bodily fluid exchange, and resisting the use of drugs that reduced inhibitions for high-risk sexual behavior.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=How Do Californians Define Safe Sex? )〕 Moreover, in 1985, the first safe sex guidelines were established by the 'Coalition for Sexual Responsibilities'. According to these guidelines, safe sex was practiced by using condoms also when engaging in anal or oral sex. Although this term was primarily used in conjunction with the homosexual male population, in 1986 the concept was spread to the general population. Various programs were developed with the aim of promoting safe sex practices among college students. These programs were focused on promoting the use of the condom, a better knowledge about the partner's sexual history and limiting the number of sexual partners. The first book on this subject appeared in the same year. The book was entitled "Safe Sex in the Age of AIDS", it had 88 pages and it described both positive and negative approaches to the sexual life. Sexual behavior could be either safe (kissing, hugging, massage, body-to-body rubbing, mutual masturbation, exhibitionism and voyeurism, phone sex, sadomasochism without bruising or bleeding, and use of separate sex toys); possibly safe (use of condoms); and unsafe.〔 In 1997, specialists in this matter promoted the use of condoms as the most accessible safe sex method (besides abstinence) and they called for TV commercials featuring condoms. During the same year, the Catholic Church in the United States issued their own "safer sex" guidelines on which condoms were listed, though two years later the Vatican urged chastity and heterosexual marriage, attacking the American Catholic bishops' guidelines. A study carried out in 2006 by Californian specialists showed that the most common definitions of safe sex are condom use (68% of the interviewed subjects), abstinence (31.1% of the interviewed subjects), monogamy (28.4% of the interviewed subjects) and safe partner (18.7% of the interviewed subjects).〔 "Safer sex" is thought to be a more aggressive term which may make it more obvious to individuals that any type of sexual activity carries a certain degree of risk. The term ''safe love'' has also been used, notably by the French Sidaction in the promotion of men's underpants incorporating a condom pocket and including the red ribbon symbol in the design, which were sold to support the charity. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「safe sex」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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