In their survey of 504 lesbians and bisexual women, Brown researchers Kate Morrow and Jenifer Allsworth found that the majority engaged in multiple episodes of unprotected sex monthly, yet few thought they were at risk for HIV or other STD infections
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In their survey of 504 lesbians and bisexual women, Brown researchers Kate Morrow and Jenifer Allsworth found that the majority engaged in multiple episodes of unprotected sex monthly, yet few thought they were at risk for HIV or other STD infections.
"The bottom line is that any unprotected sex carries a risk," said Morrow, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior. "I don’t want to create a panic over this issue of risk, but women who have sex with other women and do not protect themselves need to think twice."
The study appeared in last December’s issue of the Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
In it, 85 percent of respondents to the 1993 survey reported an average of one or more episodes per month of unprotected sex with a female partner. Eight percent reported at least one occurrence monthly of unprotected sex with a male partner. Twenty percent reported sexual activity that possibly exposed them to blood.
Moreover, 26 percent of respondents reported a previous sexually transmitted disease, which is more than twice the percentage reported in earlier research.
Notwithstanding, 84 percent of those surveyed believed that they were at zero risk of HIV or STD exposure over the previous year. Just 21 percent of all respondents reported ever having suggested use of safer sex to sexual cohorts.
"The women need more information about sexual diseases and issues of risk to make more-informed decisions," said Morrow, a clinical psychologist.
Too few women, for example, may realize that female-to-female HIV transmission is possible, although uncommon, she said. In addition, not enough women know about HIV and STD prevention options, Morrow said.
For example, a woman can put a barrier, such as a dental dam, between herself and her partner. Morrow noted that one company sells a thin latex dam (marketed in the United States as SHEER Glyde Dams) designed for cunnilingus.
A need also exists in the medical community for more talk about sexual risks for women who have sex with other women, Morrow said. At annual exams, women who are sexually active with other women usually do not tell their doctors, and few physicians ask, she said.
Morrow used an anonymous questionnaire to survey the 504 women in 1993 as part of her doctoral work. Allsworth, who is a graduate student in the Department of Community Health, led the data analysis.
"We would love to do a follow-up survey to learn how the culture has changed," Morrow said. "I think women are more willing to discuss sex, HIV and STDs. But has that translated into safer behaviors?"