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Sexual health information and care

Last updated: 02/02/2026, 15:01

If you are looking for care and information about sexuality, e.g. about safe sex, an unwanted pregnancy or about STIs. Read here about care and information around sexuality in the Netherlands.

Sexual health is about your body and your feelings

Sexual health is every person having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences and feeling good about it. Sexual health has to do with your body and your emotions when it comes to sexuality. It deals with a lot of topics. For example, about:

  • Safe sex.

  • Getting pregnant and being pregnant in a way that is comfortable for you.

  • Feeling emotionally well in a relationship.

  • Understanding how sex works and consenting to sex.

  • Sexual care and information for transgender people.

This article explores the topics that have the most questions regarding sexuality: safe sex,

and unwanted pregnancy.

Here is what you can do to have safe sex

Do you want to avoid getting STIs, getting someone pregnant or getting pregnant yourself? Then you should always have safe sex. Safe sex means that you use means before or during sex that will keep you from getting pregnant and contracting an STI.

Safe sex is sex that makes you feel good and prevents you from getting or making someone pregnant unintentionally. And that you avoid getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). STIs are infectious diseases that you can give to someone else if you have unprotected sex. Well-known STIs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital warts, genital herpes, syphilis and HIV.

You can do the following to feel safe during sex:

  • Do not do things you do not want to do and do things you do want.

  • Ask your partner if they want to have sex.

  • Discuss with your partner what you will do together to prevent pregnancy and/or STIs. 

  • If you feel uncomfortable during sex, tell your partner and stop. 

Find out what else you need to know in the following situations:

You can do this if you did have unprotected sex:

  • If you have had unprotected sex, you can get an STI. You can also pass it on to people you have sex with. Even if you have no symptoms yourself. The only way to find out if you have an STI is to get tested for it. This can be done at the doctor's office or the GGD. Anyone can get tested. There should be at least 1 week between sex and the STI test. Do not have sexual contact until you are sure you do not have an STI or have been treated for it. If you test positive for an STI, follow the prescribed treatment. STIs can be treated with antibiotics or antiviral medications. Unsure if you should get an STI test? Do the STI check

    . Do you not want to go to the doctor? You can also do a test at home. But not all home tests are equally reliable. Read about how a home test works and which STI home tests are reliable on soaaids.nl: STI home test. If you test positive for an STI, inform your sexual partners as well. They can then get tested and treated as well.

  • Emergency contraception (morning-after pill): As a woman, you can use this pill to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. You can buy this pill at pharmacies and drugstores. You do not need a prescription from your doctor. You should take the pill as soon as possible after unprotected sex. The morning-after pill costs between 10 and 15 euros.

Here is what you can do to prevent STIs:

  • Use a condom: Using condoms during sex can reduce the spread of STIs.

  • Vaccinations: There are vaccines available to prevent some STIs, such as the HPV vaccine that protects you from the HPV virus. This is an STI that occurs in a lot of people. For example, it can cause

    . Usually your own body cleans up this virus, but not always. If your body does not break it down itself, it can potentially cause cervical cancer and other types of cancer later on. Boys and girls in the Netherlands can get vaccinated for free until they are 18. Children in the Netherlands automatically receive an invitation to get the vaccination from the youth healthcare centre. This happens in the year they turn 10. They receive the 1st invitation in the spring and the 2nd in the autumn. So they do not have to make their own appointment for the HPV injection. The invitation contains a date and time for your child to get the vaccination. It involves two injections six months apart. If you are over 18 years old, you can get vaccinated at your own request at the general practitioner or the GGA. It is not free in that case. The vaccine is especially useful if you are under 26. Because the vaccine works best in people who are not yet infected with HPV. That is why all children in the Netherlands can get the injection so early. Even after getting the vaccine, you still need to have safe sex.

  • Talking about your sexual history: Be open and honest with your partner(s) about your sexual history and STI status. This helps in making decisions about protection.

  • Avoid sharing needles: If you use drugs, never share needles. This reduces the risk of blood-borne STIs, such as HIV.

Here is what you can do to prevent pregnancy:

  • Condom: A thin rubber or plastic sleeve placed over the penis. You can buy these at any pharmacy and larger supermarkets. Note that condoms have a limited shelf life.

  • Birth control pill: A medication you take every day. It contains hormones to prevent ovulation.

  • Coil: A small device inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. Hormonal and non-hormonal coils are available.

There are many other things you can do to prevent pregnancy. Even as a man. Ask your doctor for information.

Here is what you can do if you have an unwanted pregnancy

An unwanted pregnancy is a pregnancy you do not want. You can have several reasons for not wanting to be pregnant. For example, because as a woman you are made pregnant by someone you do not want to be pregnant by, because the pregnancy is not planned or because you do not have the capacity to raise a child. 

If you have an unwanted pregnancy, you can see your general practitioner. The GP can inform you about choices such as pregnancy, adoption and abortion. And refer you to the care you need, such as a gynecologist, adoption agency or pregnancy clinic. The GP cannot force you into a decision and is there to help you and provide information.

This Fiom

website was created to help women and men facing an unplanned pregnancy find the information and help they need.

Abortion is legal in the Netherlands and safe. After an abortion, you can still get pregnant again and the chance of problems after treatment is very small. According to Dutch law, you may terminate your pregnancy up to 24 weeks, that is, until the foetus could survive outside your body. In practice, doctors will help you up to 22 weeks. Free emotional help is also available if you decide to terminate the pregnancy. There are then people who can help you emotionally process the abortion.

Since 1 January 2025, you can also arrange abortion through your GP. The general practitioner prescribes medication that terminates the pregnancy (abortion pill). You can pick these up at the pharmacy. This can be done up to 9 weeks of pregnancy. Not all GPs perform abortions. Ask about this at your doctor's office. If you are more than 9 weeks pregnant, you cannot have an abortion at a general practitioner's office. However, you can at an abortion clinic or the hospital. For the hospital, you need a referral from your GP. This is not necessary for an abortion clinic.

Do you live or work in the Netherlands? Then the treatment will cost you nothing. An abortion at an abortion clinic or at your family doctor is paid for by the government (via subsidy). Your health insurance company reimburses an abortion in a hospital.

You can use these websites for more information

At soaaids.nl you can find information about sexual health, HIV and STIs.

Sense.info answers all your questions about sex. Especially if you are between the ages of 12 and 25, this site may be useful for you to check out.

Het Centrum Seksueel Geweld

offers professional help to anyone who has experienced an unpleasant sexual experience - online or offline. It does not matter whether it happened a short or long(er) ago.

Zanzu.nl

is a website with information about sexual health in your own language.

More information on sexual health for LGBTQIA+ individuals

SOA Aids Nederland has a comprehensive guide on sexual health for LGBTQIA+ newcomers to the Netherlands. This guide also provides a lot of (background) information about the Netherlands and tips for LGBTQIA+ individuals about useful organisations, websites and going out. The guide is available in English and Ukrainian

.

Man tot Man

is a website that gives advice to men who have sex with men. The website is in Dutch and in English. You will find a lot of useful and practical information about, for example, healthcare, sexuality, relationships, prep and online dating.

Organisations in the Netherlands for transgender individuals

  • On the Transgender Network

    website you will find a lot of information on trans topics. Some parts of the website are in English, but much of it is in Dutch. You can, of course, translate the information yourself with AI or a translation tool. On this website you can also find an overview of transgender organisations in your area.

  • Transvisie

    . This is the advocacy organisation for transgender and gender-diverse people. You can find more information on this website about topics that are important to you, such as health care, health insurance, safety, laws and regulations, religion, education and work. You can also join discussion groups and get in touch with other trans people in the Netherlands. There are also online meeting groups.

  • Trans in NL advice line

    . If you have not lived in the Netherlands for long and want to know what it is like for transgender individuals in the Netherlands, use this WhatsApp line. For example, do you want to know how the healthcare system works? Where to go if you are discriminated against? Or how to get your gender registration changed? You can ask these and many other questions to the Trans in NL advice line. You can send a message to 020-2446558 and on working days you will receive an answer within 24 hours. You can ask your questions in Dutch, English, Spanish or French.

Many people who have unpleasant sexual experiences feel dirty, scared, angry and nasty, or they feel guilty and blame themselves. It is not your fault, and there is no need to keep walking around with these feelings alone. There are counsellors who can help you feel better. You can see your GP or visit the 'Centrum Seksueel Geweld' (sexual assault centre).

PrEP are pills you take to keep from getting HIV. You take PrEP every day. Or only before or after sex. You choose that yourself. You can also switch. Do you think PrEP is for you? Then make an appointment with your doctor or the GGD. Discuss with your doctor whether you can get PrEP against HIV. You cannot get PrEP at all GPs. Can your doctor not help you? Ask if they know another doctor who can. Or ask for advice at the GGD

For the pills you go to the pharmacy with the prescription from the GP or GGD. The pills are not reimbursed in the Netherlands. So you pay for the PrEP pills yourself. The price varies per pharmacy and is between 20 and 60 euros per month.

PrEP only protects against HIV, not other STIs.

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