These ideas are mistaken. All young people, whoever they are, wherever they live need to take the threat of HIV seriously. Your chance of becoming infected depends entirely on how you behave. You can only become infected with HIV if you engage in risky activities. If you have sex without a condom with a number of different sexual partners, or share needles or syringes with several other drug users, you increase your chances of coming into contact with someone already infected.
Condoms can only be effective if used correctly.
To find out more about condoms and how to use them, look at the ' using condoms ' page. AIDS has made sex more difficult. It is one more thing to think about. But AIDS is not something to be so frightened of that it puts you off ever having sex. Be clear about the risks and if you do decide to have a sexual relationship with someone, avoid activities which are risky.