Safe Sex or a Cover Up for Promiscuity

The Biblical idea of abstaining from having sex until one is married is considered these days to be an abnormal practice, which many can not see any sense in the idea.
But in a world where sexual transmitted disease are rising all the time just maybe abstaining has it value. For others who believe sex is just for fun, and wish to go out and have many encounters the idea of safe sex is worth taking note. The saying goes “if your going to have sex, will at least have safe sex, use a condom’.This is what our society is preaching to the masses. But is there such a thing as safe sex?

Ian Wisheart in his book Eve’s Bites has a very interesting chapter on the myth of safe sex and it is from this chapter that I will quote and document his findings.

Wisheart says, A generation ago, couples were getting married in their early 20’s entering stable relationship and genrally avoiding promiscuity. As a result STD rates were much lower in the seventies and eighties. But today most people are not settling into long term relationships until their late 20s or 30s. They have multiple partners before marriage, and a corresponding huge rise in sexual disease rates…

Why is this case when many are using condoms because they are the way to protect one self. The interesting fact is more people are using condoms, but more people are catching diseases. One good reason may be because you have been told a lie?

The New Zealand Ministry of Health has a web site called Hubba.co.nz which is a web site designed to educate young people and adults on safe sex education.
As Wisheart says, the Hubba website doesn’t care that its information for young people is dangerously incorrect, judging from its arrogant Q&A on condom safety.
It states,

Q; Are condoms safe?

A; Condoms do protect you, some people say it isn’t worth using condoms because they have holes big enough for viruses to get through, but that’s not true. Bacteria and viruses …cannot pass through an undamaged condom.

The problem with this statement is that the most recent scientific studies have shown that condoms are not all that safe. Condoms may protect against Aids to a point, but not STD

Chlamydia; Still has a 60% relative risk of catching it even if a condom is correctly used every time

Gonorrhea; Still has a 60% relative risk of catching it even if a condom is correctly used.

Herpes; Still has a 60 % relative risk of catching it even if condoms are used correctly.

Genital Warts; No published study has found condoms can protect against this at all.

In fact Ian Wisheart goes on to say that every medical research study since 2001 has found condoms have only limited efficacy against venereal diseases. To support his claim he lists the top research studies that have been done, the first being the World Health Organization.

World Health Organization Bulletin, June 2004,
No published prospective study has found protection against genital human papillomavirus (cervical Cancer/warts/HPV) infection.

Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2003,
A study of 917 female sex workers in Lima, Peru were re-examined monthly for infection STDs. Those women who consistently used condoms still had chlamydia infection rate of 74% compared to the infection rate of women who didn’t use condoms.

Journal of Sexual Transmitted Diseases, 2002,
A meta-analysis of 20 studies found no evidence that condoms were effective against genital HPV infection, warts or cervical cancer.

American Journal of Epidemiology, 2003,
A study of 444 female university students found that consistently using condoms with a new partner was not associated with significant protection against HPV.

American Journal of Epidemiology, 2004,
A study of 4314 participants who visited STD clinics found consistent use of condoms still resulted in an infection rate of 82% compared against those who didn’t use condoms.

Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1999,
A study followed the progress of 484 adolescents at four STD clinics over six months, and found 21% of those who always used condoms had caught a sexually transmitted disease, compared with 23% of those who sometimes or never used a condom (a 91% risk of infection, group vs group)

Journal of Sexual Transmitted Diseases, 1995,
A study of 598 people attending an STD clinic in Baltimore found infection rates were almost the same, regardless of whether a condom was always used or not.

It is also shown that more gay men catch more disease due to contact with blood through anal sex even with condoms on. The idea of safe sex is a joke and the education that The New Zealand Ministry of Health gives that… Bacteria and viruses …cannot pass through an undamaged condom is a complete lie to the public. Instead of trying to teach society about true safe sex confined to one partner in a faithful relationship, we are left with a society who are going out their to have more sex because its safe because of condoms. This just is not true…