safety

The instructions on every packet of condoms I have ever seen (including condoms in countries outside the United States) clearly state that once the man has ejaculated, he needs to withdraw and dispose of the condom promptly. Proper withdrawal means you grip the ring firmly, pull out completely and...

Is it possible to have sex with someone while they're asleep? Sure it is. Is it likely they won't wake up at all? Not so much. Is it likely that person would wake up and think it was awesome someone was engaging them in sex without their permission in advance? Probably not. More to the point, is it...

Rape is when someone forces, coerces or nags you to do ANY kind of sexual activity you don't want to engage in, or when someone has sex ON you or TO you, rather than 100% WITH you. A partner forcing his hands into your pants and fingering you when you do not want that is a rape. Whether or not it...

It's important to understand that rape is only sex for the person doing the raping. And really, it's not even that, since partnered sex is something we do WITH someone, not TO someone, or have done TO us. A person being raped does not have control over the situation, isn't consenting and IS...

It has NEVER been safe to try and terminate a pregnancy with a wire hanger, for crying out loud. PLEASE hear that. Abortions with wire hangers are remnants of the horror stories -- true ones, sadly -- from the days when abortion was illegal. Many women had to have backalley abortions at high cost...

Anal douche is more commonly referred to as an enema. Enemas are solutions that are injected into the lower bowel to induce defecation through one means or another. There are many different kinds of enemas, those including things such as milk and molasses, fleet, cone, etc. Using an enema before...

Unless his sperm came equipped with flame throwers and chain saws, it's pretty much impossible that it could make it through that many layers of clothing! Sperm can be pretty hearty, but all of those layers are more than they could ever survive through. So no, you have no pregnancy risk from the...

We need rules and guidelines with this many people and such sensitive subject matter, and because we value the safety and quality of our community. Scarleteen has one of the busiest and longest-running message boards and sites around, and that involves cooperation to make it work best for everyone...

There are instances in which condom use alone - or the use of dental dams and gloves -- cannot offer the level of STI protection they can in other instances, with STIs which are transmitted not via fluid exchange, but by skin-to-skin contact: namely two of the most common STIs, HPV and Herpes.

We talk a lot about sexual safety and safer sex here at Scarleteen in terms of your physical health. But what about checking in to see if sex is safe for you and yours emotionally? Taking care of your emotions, looking out for risk factors in advance -- not just when they become an existing crisis -- and safeguarding yourself, your partners and those around you from needless hurt and harm is just as important as doing what you can to prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancies.