Divorce, Dating and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Most of us don’t want to jump right from divorce into another committed relationship. We do however; want to experience dating and the company of the opposite sex. For some that means casual dating and casual sex. We want to feel alive, desirable and to move on. There is nothing wrong with that.

Here is the problem those who come out of long-term marriages seem to face. They are taking it for granted that just because they have not spent years sleeping around they are safe from sexually transmitted diseases. Most older divorced folks are dating older divorced folks. There is a dangerous assumption that just because you are older and were in long term marriages that there is no need to use protection when having sex.

Women past child bearing years are especially at risk for sexually transmitted diseases because they feel that since they can no longer become pregnant that a condom isn’t needed. They aren’t realizing that it isn’t just about becoming pregnant. It is about your sexual history and the sexual history of the person you are dating. When you have sex with someone you are essentially having sex with every person they have had sex with.

Sex is unsafe at any age. In a survey conducted by the Universtiy of Chicago it was found that nearly 60% of unmarried women ages 58 to 93 said they didn’t use a condom. On Ohio University stud found hat about 27% of HIV-infected men and 35% of HIV-infected women over the age of 50 sometimes have sex without using condoms.

It pays to play it safe according to those statistics. When you are out there “getting your toes wet” enjoy yourself but, don’t forget, no matter what age you are it’s best to practice safe sex.