Grace and John – Unsafe Sex

Summary of the story

Grace and her friends decide to skip classes and go to John’s house. John is the friend of one of the girls. John asks Grace if she wants to go to his room, it is implied that he wants to have sex. Grace says she can’t have sex until she gets married but John persuades Grace that there are other things they can do so Grace can remain a virgin. They go to John’s room and have anal sex. Grace goes to see the school nurse as she is experiencing pain after having anal sex. The nurse tell Grace that she may have contracted an STI from having anal sex and that she will make an appointment for her to be tested. Grace reveals that she didn’t realise that anal sex was considered to be real sex. Grace has been for tests and is given the result that she has Chlamydia, and that it can be treated.

General questions to start discussions and explore the story

What’s happening in this story?
Explore points that are raised by participants – ask more questions about their statements.

Hints to prompt discussion

Sometimes people make decisions that may put their safety as risk.
It is always good to let others know where you are going.
People have different values about sex. It is important to respect the values of others.
Sex is not only defined as a penis going into a vagina, it can include a wide variety of activities, including: anal Sex (penis in anus intercourse), oral sex (mouth to genital contact), fingering or hand jobs (hand to genital contact), dry humping, genital rubbing and masturbation.
Having any type of unprotected sex comes with the risk of blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections (BBV/STIs).
It is important to seek help from a trusted adult, a youth service or a health service if you have had sex without a condom, if you are feeling pain after having sex or if you have had sex when you didn’t want to.
Many STIs do not have symptoms, you should visit a doctor or health service to be tested for BBV/ STIs if you have had sex without a condom.