Abstinence ?

What is abstinence?

Abstinence means not having oral, vaginal, or anal sex. An abstinent person is someone who's never had sex or someone who's had sex but has decided not to continue having sex for some period of time.

What we know about abstinence:

Abstinence is the only 100% effective way to prevent HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and pregnancy. + The longer you wait to start having oral, vaginal, or anal sex, the fewer sexual partners you are likely to have in your lifetime. Having fewer partners lowers your chances of having sex with someone who has HIV or another STD.

Some STDs are transmitted through skin-to-skin contact (like human papillomavirus or HPV, genital herpes, and syphilis), so even if you don't have anal or vaginal sex (or if you use a condom when you have sex), you can get infected.

What you can do

Choose to be abstinent and talk to your partner about that decision. Not having sex is the best way to prevent getting or transmitting HIV.

Additional Resources

Abstinence resources