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Youth see anal sex as safe alternative - report

    JOHANNESBURG

    Young South Africans are interpreting oral and anal sex as safe because they are not mentioned in HIV/AIDS prevention messages, an expert has said.

    A survey conducted by professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim has revealed that 15 percent of 800 pupils aged 15 to 19 surveyed in KwaZulu-Natal province considered anal sex a safer alternative, despite it carrying the highest risk of HIV infection.

    A local newspaper, The Sunday Times, quoted her as saying: "We need to make sure that our prevention messages are as complete as possible about the different ways that you can get HIV/AIDS."

    Karim also said her findings showed that the country's HIV/AIDS awareness messages were too vague.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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