Monogamy as Public Policy for STD Prevention: In Theory and in Practice

Abstract

Monogamy is current public policy for preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). To evaluate whether monogamy is serving its intended purposes, the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) definition of monogamy is considered. This definition does not convey to the public the fact that monogamy must be practiced very strictly to be effective and implies that serial monogamy is a safe practice. Benefits and drawbacks of employing (different versions of) monogamy to reduce STD transmission are considered. Although certain forms of monogamy are efficacious in reducing STDs, these versions of monogamy have not been adopted by the public and widely practiced forms of monogamy are not effective in practice. Finally, this review considers whether the public policy of monogamy helps society achieve its sexual health goals, explicating strengths and weaknesses of monogamy advice versus other tactics that might be utilized to curb STDs.