Women's Health

STIs + Cancer

Do same-sex attracted women need pap smears?

Yes. A common misconception about lesbians and other same-sex attracted women is that if they're not sexually active with men, they're not in need of pap smears or cervical screenings. This is because male-female sex has been traditionally understood as the only risk factor for women in contracting human papilloma virus (HPV) or developing cervical cancer.

In order to investigate the impacts of this mainstream medical belief, the 2004 Sydney Women and Sexual Health Survey (SWASH) checked the screening history of same-sex attracted women. A noticeable 28% of respondents who reported having had sex with a male at some point had not been screened for up to three years or had never had a pap test screening before. In addition, women who reported never having had sex with a man were more likely to be overdue for screening.

It's clear that education regarding the sexual health needs of same-sex attracted women for general practitioners, as well as for lesbians and other same-sex attracted women themselves, is necessary.