The issue of condom use can be controversial and difficult to discuss. Condoms are often wrongly associated only with promiscuity or sex work, so using condoms carries stigma. Christians should value life and reflect God’s love and care for all people. Sharing information about appropriate condom use can help save lives. Condom use is recommended to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, if either partner may be at risk.
Women may have no choice in marriage and little control over sexual decisions. But men do not own women’s bodies. A woman should have the right to choose when, how and with whom she has sex, and to protect herself from harm. At present, many new HIV infections are amongst faithful, married women. Many men do not like to wear condoms, but it is important for both men and women to take responsibility for sexual health. Here are some suggestions for negotiating condom use.
Practise the conversation beforehand
If you think your partner may not be supportive, you could practise talking with a friend first. They can pretend to be your partner and you can practise answering questions they might have.
Choose a good time to talk – such as when you are feeling good about each other and when you are not likely to be interrupted. Do not wait until you are about to have sex.
Be informed Learn as much as you can about STIs and about safer sex methods. That way you can help your partner to understand the real risks of unsafe sex.
Pray together for wisdom in protecting each other’s health. Study biblical teaching on relationships (1 Corinthians 7).
Focus on safety Your partner may say you do not trust them. Tell them the issue is safety, not trust. A person may have an STI without knowing, or may contract HIV not through sex but through blood transfusions or unsafe needles. So it is difficult to be sure that he or she is not infected.
Use other people as examples Sometimes learning that others are practising safer sex can help influence your partner to do so too.
Compiled by Maggie Sandilands, with information from Where women have no doctor by A August Burns, Ronnie Lovich, Jane Maxwell and Katharine Shapiro (Hesperian Foundation).