Risks and prevention of sexually transmissible infections among women who have sex with women.

Abstract

Health care providers working with women who have sex with women (WSW) have been ill-informed about a range of sexual health issues for these women. Pertinent issues include sexual behaviours that carry risks of sexually transmissible infection (STI), prevention strategies for safer sex and understanding experiences of abuse. A relative silence continues in all of these areas within the mainstream medical literature, textbooks, research and policy documents, which perpetuates medical ignorance. There is evidence that the prevalence of STIs among WSW is at least as high as among heterosexual women, if not higher among some sub-groups. Risk factors include the sex and number of sexual partners..