Sexual Responsibility

This is such a wonderful time of the year , when love, … warm feeling, attraction, to another person, is most talked, worked, walked and practised, all over the world. Valentine’s Day. This day, February 14th, for this leap year, coincidentally, falls on a weekend, Sunday.

So are you all geared up to fireyour arrow of love, or to be shot at by someone else? It could be a known admirer, anonymous person, or really, better still … your spouse.

The history of the Valentine’s Day, states that a catholic saint, realised the need to help the needy,and he went about to perform this function. So then, why has it come to be known as a day where hunters go all out, with the aim to lure, intimidate and cause much pain and anguish, at times to willing and eager victims, and other times, innocent ones?

The main aim of the article is to make you to be aware of your sexual responsibility. More often than not, we try to look for excuses, and who to heap blames upon, when things go awry.

So when can you legally have sex ?

‘Age of consent’ is another way of saying the legal age to have sex. This does vary between countries.A typical legal age from various places is shown below :

few examples of the heterosexual age of consent in different countries: • In some parts of the United States and Egypt - age 18 • UK and Namibia (and many other countries) - age 16 • Sweden - age 15 • Canada - age 14 • Korea - age 13 • Mexico - age 12. • Nigeria – 18.

Despite the limits, I want to say categorically,that as long as you are still living under your parents roof, you are legally bound by their rules and regulations. Why

do I say this? Certainly, your parent would not consent

to your having sex, at least not while you arestill fully dependent on them. And, it would also depend on how, why and who you are involved with.

So when do i consent ?

Essentially it means that if you have sex with someone

when you or they are under the age of consent, then

you are breaking the law – even if you both have sex

willingly. In the eyes of the law people ar e unable to give informed consent to sex when they ar e still considered a child. This may seem unfair, but try to remember that the law is there to protect you. There’s no set age to be ready for sex so the law has to generalise. It’s important to know the age of consent where you live and how it applies to you. Being aware of global variations is also a good idea to avoid breaking the law in other countries.

Please bear in mind that ‘sex’ means different things in different countries. Some places count things like kissing as sexual contact while other places only count sexual intercourse. There are various laws binding in various countries.

You are in a relationship, so what?

You may choose not to have sex forreligious reasons or just because you don’t want to. Many people are happy in relationships and not having sex.

If the time comes to start a sexualrelationship, knowing how to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy

and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV,

will help to put your mind at ease. Remember that part of being ready to have sex is feeling comfortable talking about which contraception to use, and being prepared to use condoms to help protect yourself against STIs. It’s important to remember that relationships can be

complicated, unhealthy, or even unsafe. Understanding

the truth about unhealthy relationships can help you

decide if yours is good for you. Unfortunately, too

many women are in relationships that involve a loss of sexual and reproductive control.

You are vulnerable and in danger:

The focus is really to sensitise you to the dangers of being involved in careless sexual relationship this time of the year. Valentine’s day is marked ones a year, the true meaning of showing love by helping those in need , is not practiced, but intimacy is blown out of proportion. Many times, this single act, results in unwanted pregnancy, and may lead to your being saddled with life time guilt. The serious issue here that you run a risk of contacting serious diseases.

• Sexually transmitted infections (STI), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and venereal diseases (VD), are infections that are commonly spread

by sex, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex and oral

sex. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are passed

from one person to another through unprotected sex or genital contact.

• Chlamydia: is a very common STI and is easily

passed on during sex. Most people don’t experience any symptoms, so they are unaware they’re infected. In women, chlamydia can cause pain or a burning sensation when urinating, a vaginal discharge, pain in the lower abdomen during or after sex, and bleeding during or after sex or between periods. It can also cause heavy periods. In men, chlamydia can cause pain or a burning sensation when urinating, a white, cloudy or watery discharge from the tip of the penis, and pain or tenderness in the testicles. It’s also possible to have a chlamydia infection in your rectum (bottom), throat or eyes.

• Genital Warts: Genital warts are small fleshygrowths, bumps or skin changes that appear on or around your genital or anal area. They’re caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) and are the second most common STI in England after chlamydia. The warts are usually painless, but you may notice some itching orredness. Occasionally, they can cause bleeding.You don’t need to have penetrative sex to pass the infection on because HPV is spread by skin-to-skin contact.

• Genital herpes : is a common infection caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), which is the same virus that causes cold sores. Some people develop symptoms of HSV a few days after coming into contact with the virus. Small, painful blisters or sores usually develop, which may cause itching or tingling, or make it painful to urinate. After you’ve been infected, the virus remains dormant (inactive) most of the time. However, certain triggers can reactivate the virus, causing the blisters to develop again, although they’re usually smaller and less painful. It’s easier to test for HSV if you have symptoms. Although there’s no cure for genital herpes, the symptoms can usually be controlled using antiviral medicines.

• Gonorrhoea : is a bacterial STI easily passed on during sex. About 50% of women and 10% of men don’t experience any symptoms and are unaware they’re infected. In women, gonorrhoea can cause pain or a burning sensation when urinating, a vaginal discharge (often watery, yellow or green), pain in the lower abdomen during or after sex, and bleeding during or after sex or between periods, sometimes causing heavy periods. In men, gonorrhoea can cause pain or a burning sensation when urinating, a white, yellow or green discharge from the tip of the penis, and pain or tenderness in the testicles. It’s also possible to have a gonorrhoea infection in your rectum, throat or eyes.

• Syphilis: is a bacterial infection that in the early stages causes a painless, but highly infectious, sore on your genitals or around the mouth. The sore can last up to six weeks before disappearing. Secondary symptoms such as a rash, flu-likeillness or patchy hair loss may then develop. These may disappear within a few weeks, after which you’ll have a symptom-free phase. The late or tertiary stage of syphilis usually occurs after many years, and can cause serious conditions such as heart problems, paralysis and blindness.

• HIV: is most commonly passed on through unprotected sex. It can also be transmitted by coming into contact with infected blood – for example, sharing needles to inject steroids or drugs. The HIV virus attacks and weakens the immune system, making it less able to fight infections and disease. There’s no cure for HIV, but there are treatments that allow most people to live a long and otherwise healthy life. AIDS is the finalstage of an HIV infection, when your body can no longer fightlife-threatening infections.

Most people with HIV look and feel healthy and have no symptoms. When you firstdevelop HIV, you may experience a flu-likeillness with a fever, sore throat or rash. This is called a seroconversion illness.

• Trichomoniasis: is an STI caused by a tiny parasite called Trichomonas vaginalis (TV). It can be easily passed on through sex and most people don’t know they’re infected.

In women, trichomoniasis can cause a frothy yellow or watery vaginal discharge that has an unpleasant smell, soreness oritching around the vagina, and pain when passing urine.

In men, trichomoniasis rarely causes symptoms. You may experience pain or burning after passing urine, a whitish discharge, or an inflamed foreskin. Trichomoniasis can sometimes be difficult to diagnose and you must see a doctor.

• Pubic lice: are easily passed to others through close genital contact. They’re usually found in pubic hair, but can live in underarm hair, body hair, beards and occasionally eyebrows or eyelashes. The lice crawl from hair to hair but don’t jump or fly from person to person. It may take several weeks for you to notice any symptoms. Most people experience itching, and you may notice the lice or eggs on the hairs.

• Scabies: is caused by tiny mites that burrow into the skin. It can be passed on through close body or sexual contact, or from infected clothing, bedding or towels. If you develop scabies, you may have intense itching that’s worse at night. The itching can be in your genital area, but it also often occurs between your fingers, on wrists and ankles, under your arms, or on your body and breasts. You may have a rash or tiny spots. In some people, scabies can be confused with eczema. It’s usually very difficult to see the mites.

We can all see that there are more risks than pleasure in engaging in a spur of the moment intimacy. It is better that you are wise and careful. I have always advised men and women, if you must have sex, do so in marriage. But if for whatever reason you may have… please use a condom.

Condoms are extremely good protection against HIV and many other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). They’re also useful at preventing unintentional pregnancies, although many women use a more reliable form of contraception as well as condoms to ensure they’re protected against both STIs and unwanted pregnancy. Condoms do not have tiny holes in them as long as you do not engage in very aggressive and rigorous form of intimacy.

Despise all of these, I wish all our esteemedreaders, a sensible and beautiful Valentine’s day, tomorrow FEBRUARY 14TH.

Essentially it means that if you have sex with someone when you or they are under the age of consent, then you are breaking the law – even if you both have sex willingly. In the eyes of the law people are unable to give informed consent to sex when...