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Safe Sex Around the Globe
So Western Europe, particularly the Nordic countries, are 'all that'? Maybe not, when it comes to safe sex.
There's a very interesting graphic in this month's Foreign Policy magazine regarding which countries practice safe sex and get STDs (sexually transmitted diseases).
The study (more parts of which appear here) was sponsored by Durex condoms and put together by Miguel Fontes of Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. Over 317,000 people in 41 countries were surveyed about when they first had sex, what the rates of STD infection are, and whether they practice unsafe sex without knowing their partner's history.
The worst of those surveyed? Norway. That country gets the worst record in terms of STD infection rate and percentage of people who practice unsafe sex. Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are also on the wall of shame. Subsequently, those are also the countries with the highest standard of living. Is there a correlation here?
Filed under: Nightlife
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
HotBabel Oct 11th 2007 12:23PM
Very interesting--and it would seem counter-intuitive. But the mix of sexual freedom, wealth/poverty, and education in each country is the key. While ignorance and poverty in some of the world's poorer places can add up to high rates of unsafe sex and HIV infection, good education efforts can make a real dent. Whereas here in the West we not only have more sexual freedom and opportunity, but we've been living with the epidemic for much longer and our relative affluence means more people can afford expensive but lifesaving drugs. That combination of "AIDS fatigue"; the belief (especially among younger people) that the drugs out there now will make the disease little more than a nuisance instead of a death sentence; and flagging prevention/ education efforts can indeed all add up to more unsafe sex. In my travels in recent years, I've found this to be the sad truth...
-David Appell
www.GayBabel.net