Women cannot control condom use. Women who perceive themselves at special risk of acquiring HIV should consider the following strategies:

• Ask their partner to wear a condom and use water-based lubricant which does not contain nonoxynol-9.
• Use a female condom (vaginal pouch) and lubricant. Although women may insert the female condom, this is not like a female-controlled prevention technology (such as the diaphragm). It is not discreet - your partner will always know you are using it - and it’s possible to insert the penis between the wall of the vagina and the female condom, in which case it will offer no protection.
• The effectiveness of the female condom with regard to preventing HIV infection has not been established.
• Withdrawal: the European Study Group on Heterosexual Transmission of HIV (De Vincenzi 1994) reported in 1994 that HIV-positive men who always withdrew before ejaculating had not infected their partners, even after 18 months. This suggests that if loss of sensation is the problem, intercourse without condoms may not present a significant risk unless ejaculation takes place, and may in some cases be an agreeable solution for both partners. However, Australian AIDS organisations have mounted specific campaigns to warn gay men against this strategy, after research suggested that a significant proportion of (an admittedly small number) of new infections were occurring among men who were using this technique instead of condoms.