Lesbian and bisexual women are being incorrectly told they don’t need a smear test
The National LGB&T Partnership has highlighted the fact that 37 per cent of women who have sex with women have been told they do not require a cervical screening test due to their sexual orientation. This is wrong.
The HPV Virus can cause cervical cancer. Genital HPV infections are common and highly contagious. They are spread during sexual intercourse and skin-to-skin contact of the genital areas. So women who have sex with women are just as much at risk as their heterosexual counterparts.
Cervical smear tests screen for abnormal cells on the cervix, which can be an indicator of cervical cancer. Every woman should be routinely screened.