Information on Safe Sex for Lesbians
Lesbians are not considered at high risk for contracting AIDS unless they share needles for intravenous (IV) drugs or have sexual contact with people who are in high-risk groups.
According to the Women's AIDS Network of San Francisco, California, lesbians who may be at risk for AIDS and should consider being tested for the virus include:
 | Women who share needles or any other paraphernalia if using IV drugs. This is the single most important risk category for lesbians. | ||||||||
| Women who have used semen for donor insemination from a donor in a high-risk group who is known to be antibody positive, or whose risk status is unknown. | ||||||||
| Women who have received blood transfusions or blood products between 1979 and 1985. | ||||||||
| Women who have had sexual contact with
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Lesbians are not at high risk of contracting or transmitting the AIDS virus at this time unless they use IV drugs or have unsafe sexual contact with people who are in high risk groups - such as bisexual men or men who use drugs.
Thus far, only a few cases of AIDS are thought to have been transmitted through female-to-female contact. If you have a new sexual partner, learn about her history and share your own.
If either of you has a history that suggests the possibility of exposure to the virus, it's best to be tested before engaging in sexual activity.
The Women's AIDS Network of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation has these recommendations for lesbian women who may have been exposed to the AIDS virus:
If either woman may be carrying the virus, she should not allow her menstrual blood, vaginal secretions, urine, feces, or breast milk to enter her partner's body through the mouth, rectum, vagina, or broken skin.
SAFE
Practices in which lesbians who may have AIDS can safely engage include:
| Massage, hugging |
| Dry kissing |
| Body-to-body rubbing |
| Fantasy |
| Vibrators or other sex toys (don't share them) |
| Masturbation |
| Other activities that do not involve the exchange of body fluids |
POSSIBLY SAFE
These are sexual practices that are possibly safe for lesbians who may have been exposed:
| Oral-genital contact (cunnilingus) using a thin piece of latex placed between the vulva and tongue |
| Hand-to-genital contact using a disposable latex glove |
| Wet kissing (Although the virus has been found in saliva, it is not believed that AIDS has been transmitted through kissing) |
| Anal-oral contact with a latex barrier |
UNSAFE
These are practices not considered safe for lesbians who have reason to believe they may have been exposed to the virus:
| Unprotected cunnilingus, especially during menstruation |
| Unprotected hand-to-vagina or anus contact, especially if you have cuts on hands |
| Sharing needles (IV needles or skin piercing needles) |
| Blood contact of any kind, including menstrual blood |
| Urine or feces in mouth or vagina |
| Unprotected anal-oral contact |
| Sharing sex toys that have had contact with body fluids |