Personal story: Kiaan

"I was 21, in college and never had an STI before. I was sexually active for three years and my partner was careful. Eventually we parted ways and I met someone who I had class with. He seemed really cool and was very intelligent. One day I decided to meet up with him and he wanted to have unprotected sex with me. I was aware of STIs and told him to go get a condom even though he swore up and down he was clean. Eventually we met up again for the second time and I knew I should have worn a condom, but he swore again he didn’t have anything and he seemed responsible.

After having unprotected sex with this man, I was curious and decided to get checked out anyway. Two weeks went by and I got a call back saying I was positive for chlamydia. I was upset and confused. How can someone swear they are clean yet have something?

My advice would be to wear protection every single time and get tested beforehand for all STIs. Don’t trust someone just because they swear they do not have something. Take charge of your sexual health and be aware that it only takes one time to get anything."

What we say

There are lots of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that don’t have symptoms, so often people won’t know that they have an infection. It’s good to test regularly for chlamydia and other STIs – even if you don’t have any symptoms. Wanting to wear a condom isn’t a sign that you don’t trust someone, it can show that you care and want to look after them.

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These personal stories have been submitted to us anonymously by individuals who use our site. Some of the stories have been edited for clarity purposes and names have been changed to protect identities.

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