Yap Lorraine, Richters Juliet, Butler Tony, Schneider Karen, Kirkwood Kristie, Donovan Basil
School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Sex Health. 2010 Jun;7(2):170-6. doi: 10.1071/SH09138.
Dental dams have been distributed to women prisoners for protection against HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in some Canadian and Australian prisons for over a decade. However, we do not know whether they serve any useful public health purpose.
To determine how dental dams are used in women's prisons in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we investigated women's sexual practices with a focus on how dental dams are used in NSW prisons.
Although 71 of the 199 (36%) women reported having had sex with another inmate, with oral sex involved in most encounters, only eight (4%) had ever used a dental dam. The main sources of STI transmission risk among women prisoners were oral sex, manual sex and sharing dildos. Furthermore, sharing razors could also allow the transmission of blood-borne viruses, which could occur during sex in the presence of cuts or menstrual fluid. The high rates of hepatitis B and C among incarcerated women compound this risk.
Dental dams are not widely used by women prisoners and we question their utility in women's prisons. Oral sex is an important risk factor for acquisition of herpes simplex virus type 1, but most women in NSW prisons (89%) are already infected. Condoms and latex gloves may have more use. Condoms could be used as a barrier on shared dildos and sex toys, while latex gloves could be used to protect cut and grazed hands from vaginal and menstrual fluids.
在加拿大和澳大利亚的一些监狱中，牙垫已分发给女囚犯以预防艾滋病毒和其他性传播感染（STIs），这种情况已持续了十多年。然而，我们并不清楚它们是否具有任何有益的公共卫生用途。
确定澳大利亚新南威尔士州（NSW）女监狱中牙垫的使用情况。
我们采用定量和定性方法，调查了女性的性行为，重点是新南威尔士州监狱中牙垫的使用方式。
尽管199名女性中有71名（36%）报告与另一名囚犯发生过性行为，且大多数性行为中涉及口交，但只有8名（4%）曾经使用过牙垫。女囚犯中性传播感染风险的主要来源是口交、手淫和共用假阴茎。此外，共用剃须刀也可能导致血源病毒传播，这可能在性行为过程中因有伤口或月经血而发生。被监禁女性中乙肝和丙肝的高感染率加剧了这种风险。
女囚犯并未广泛使用牙垫，我们对其在女监狱中的效用表示质疑。口交是感染1型单纯疱疹病毒的一个重要风险因素，但新南威尔士州监狱中的大多数女性（89%）已经感染。避孕套和乳胶手套可能更有用。避孕套可作为共用假阴茎和性玩具的屏障，而乳胶手套可用于保护割伤和擦伤的手免受阴道分泌物和月经血的污染。
