Reasons to protect yourself

Whether you’re a girl or a boy, contracting a sexually transmissible infection (STI) can lead to serious problems:

• Many STIs don’t show any symptoms but the later they’re detected, the more they can cause serious complications.
• Treatment of an STI may require stopping sexual intercourse for several weeks.

For girls

• The complications linked to STIs are often more serious for girls than for boys because they affect the reproductive system.
• Some untreated STIs can cause pains in the lower abdomen and during sexual intercourse.
• Some types of human papillomavirus (HPV) are associated with cancer of the uterine cervix.
• During pregnancy, some untreated infections can harm the health of the foetus or the newborn baby or even cause its death.
• The shape of the female genital organs allows prolonged contact between semen and the vagina and uterine cervix, which increases the risk of contracting an STI.
• Teenage girls are more at risk of contracting some STIs than older women because their vagina and their uterine cervix are less mature.

For boys

• Some STIs can cause great pain in the testicles or the prostate.
• Because boys generally see the health services less than girls, they run the risk of a longer infection period with an STI that doesn’t show any symptoms.
• Some types of HPV increase the risk of developing cancer of the penis or the anus.