A survey has found that heterosexual women are less likely to use condoms for anal sex than gay men. Pink News says the research, carried out by the New York City Department of Health, found that only 23 percent of women required their male partners to use condoms during anal sex, compared with 61 percent of gay or bisexual men. According to the department, an estimated 100,000 New York City women have anal sex every year. Women who did not use condoms were also far less likely to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases. While 63 percent of those who use always condoms get tested regularly, just 35 percent of those who bareback do. Younger women were found to be the most likely to unprotected anal sex, with 11 percent of those aged 18 to 24 stating that they did, compared to two percent of women aged between 45 and 62. New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley says tens of thousands of New Yorkers are engaging in sexual behavior that is especially risky. "Many people are aware of the risk of HIV when men have sex with other men, but this report shows that a large number of women also are putting themselves at high risk through unprotected anal sex."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 25th April 2010 - 4:24pm