A commentary on negotiated safety. -editorial-

Negotiated safety is an HIV avoidance strategy, or set of strategies, adopted by two men in a seronegative concordant regular relationship, who are aware of each other's negative status, where an agreement is reached by them about dispensing with condoms within the relationship and avoiding unsafe sexual practice outside it. From data derived from the longitudinal Sydney Men and Sexual Health (SMASH) cohort, more than 40% of the men in regular relationships employed one of the strategies that would, under the conditions described in the definition above, constitute negotiated safety. Negotiated safety has been adopted by a significant number of men and, although it is axiomatic that it is not unconditionally safe, negotiated safety is a reasonable and a safe strategy when honesty and trust is part of the sexual interaction. (non-author abstract)