Safer sex

Safer sex means protecting yourself against sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy, and making sure that the experience is safe for you and your partners or sexual contacts. 

There are lots of options for staying safe. Condoms protect you against both STIs and pregnancy.

Communication is the key to good sex. It’s up to you and the person you’re having sex with to decide what you do together and what you both feel comfortable with.  

This means listening to what they communicate and respecting their likes, dislikes, and boundaries. 

It’s essential to get consent before sex and during sex.

The safe way to protect yourself from STIs is using external condoms, internal condoms, or oral dams every time you have sex.

External condoms are thin tubes (usually made of rubber or latex) that roll over a penis, sex toy, or strap-on before sex. They can be used for vaginal, anal, and oral sex. They reduce the risk of sperm and infections passing between people. 

Internal condoms are thin tubes (usually made of nitrile polymer, the same material as medical gloves) with flexible rings at each end – one end is closed. You can put them in your vagina or your anus before sex to reduce the risk of sperm and infections passing between people.

Oral dams are thin sheets (usually made of latex) that you put over someone’s vulva or anus before oral sex to reduce the risk of sperm and infections passing between people. You can buy them, or create them out of a condom.

Using lube with condoms helps to prevent the condom from breaking during sex by reducing friction. Lube can also make sex more pleasurable for some people.  

As well as protection from STIs, condoms help you avoid pregnancy. There are other contraception options, like the pill or the implant, which can also help you avoid pregnancy. 

You may not know you have an STI but can still pass it on to your partners or sexual contacts. 

If you're having sex, it’s important to get tested for STIs regularly. If you have sexual contact with multiple people, it’s a good idea to get tested every three months. 

It’s also a good idea to get tested before and after you have sex with a new person – but remember that STIs don’t always show up on tests right away, so wait a couple of weeks before testing. Find out more about when to get tested. 

Get Tested NZ provides free tests for four different STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV, and syphilis.

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