Background:There are restrictions as well as lawful and religious prohibition for sexual relationships in Iranian society.Objectives:This study explores the varied experiential reality of Iranian youth and their risky sexual experiences.Patients and Methods:Data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with 30 single young men and women. Observation of interactions of youth in different settings has been another source of information. Interviews were microscopically content analyzed.Results:The accounts of risky sexual experiences included gendered behavioral, cultural, and cognitive factors. In the re-contextualizing process, these accounts were categorized by two main themes: “gendered sexual script” and “cultural scenarios of interpersonal interactions”. The notion of “male power” was evident in the responses provided by the participants. Women seldom asked for condom use due to limited knowledge about STIs-HIV/AIDS and unpleasant experiences with condoms. Men had limited knowledge about various sexual modes of HIV and STIs transmission and did not use condoms consistently because they had not seen themselves at risk of STIs or HIV as well as their belief about the decrease of sexual pleasure.Conclusions:Rising youth awareness, creating a positive attitude, and appropriate knowledge about safe sex practices are seminal. It is also vital to ensure access to gender specific sexual and reproductive health services for youths, empower women, and strengthen their sexual assertiveness as well as the elimination of all forms of gender-based inequalities.

This brief report discusses the effectiveness of therapist-aided gradual exposure therapy for a sample of women suffering from lifelong vaginismus (LLV). Thirty two women who have never been able to have sexual intercourse, performed weekly exposure sessions of vaginal penetration exercises assisted by a female therapist/sexologist, at the (Isfahan) psychosexual clinic. The main outcome measures were the diary kept by the female participants and their partners achieving successful intercourse. After the treatment, all women reported having successful intercourse. This result was maintained during two follow-up sessions over a six-month period. At the second follow-up session, all participants and their spouses revealed a significant decrease in fear scores compared with the pre-treatment (for women and their spouses, t (31) ¼ 15.43, p < 0.00 and t (31) ¼ 13.41, p < 0.00, respectively). Although we had no experimental control group, this therapeutic method demonstrated an effective approach in reducing coital fear and negative beliefs commonly associated with vaginal penetration in women with vaginismus. Further studies that include a control group and greater sample size are warranted to evaluate the efficacy of therapist-aided exposure therapy for treatment of women with LLV.

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