The Safer Sex Guide for Young Queer Love In the Time of COVID
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From the early days of the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, educators, mental health professionals, and public health researchers have been increasingly concerned with the impact it is having on various populations. For LGBTQ+ youth, the ramifications of social distancing and isolation are believed to be particularly significant.
According to Boston University Today, “Being a teenager is really about this wonderful time period of exploration, increased independence, and the ability to try things out and discover who you are—and none of those things are possible in the same way when you’re physically distancing and unable to leave your house,” says Kimberly Nelson, a School of Public Health assistant professor of community health sciences.
Add being attracted to the same sex (and maybe not being out to family), and the isolation, stress, and online risk-taking may be even greater, she says. She plans to find out the extent of those things—and for a few of these teens, help mitigate their effects—with an online sex education pilot intervention for 150 gay, bisexual, questioning, and other sexual-minority boys between the ages of 14 and 17.
New York State issued a separate and specific set of guidelines around Safer Sex and COVID-19. All New Yorkers should stay home as much as possible and minimize contact with others to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Sex is a normal part of life and should always be with the consent of all parties. This document offers strategies to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 during sex. Decisions about sex and sexuality need to be balanced with personal and public health. During this extended public health emergency, people will and should have sex. Consider using harm reduction strategies to reduce the risk to yourself, your partners, and our community.
But can you have sex?
Yes! Here are some tips for how to enjoy safer sex and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
1. Know how COVID-19 spreads.
- You can get COVID-19 from a person who has it.o The virus spreads through particles in the saliva, mucus or breath of people with COVID-19, even from people who do not have symptoms.
- We still have a lot to learn about COVID-19 and sex.
o The virus has been found in the semen and feces (poop) of people with COVID-19.
o We do not know if COVID-19 can be spread through vaginal or anal sex.
o We know that other coronaviruses do not easily spread through sex. This means sex isnot likely a common way that COVID-19 spreads.
2. Have sex only with people close to you.
- You are your safest sex partner. Masturbation will not spread COVID-19, especially if you washyour hands (and any sex toys) with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after sex.
- The next safest partner is someone you live with. Having close contact — including sex — withonly a small circle of people helps prevent spreading COVID-19. o Have sex only with consenting partners.
o To learn more about consent, visit on.nyc.gov/consent.- You should limit close contact — including sex — with anyone outside your household.
If you do have sex with others outside of your household, have as few partners as possible and pick partners you trust. Talk about COVID-19 risk factors, just as you would discuss PrEP, condoms, and other safer sex topics. Ask them about COVID-19 before you hook up.
For more information visit the New York State Department of Health’s website.
