like most sexual activity, lesbian sexual activities can carry risks of sexually transmitted infections (stis/stds), such as genital herpes or other pathogenic infections. when lesbian sexual activity is of a non-penetrative nature, the risk of exchange of bodily fluids is generally lower and therefore the incidence of transmission of sexually transmitted infections is also relatively low, especially when contrasted by penetrative sexual activities between male-female or male-male couples. the use of the same sex toys by more than one person increases the risk of transmitting such infections. though the risk for hiv transmission from lesbian sexual activity is significantly lower than it is for hiv transmission from male-female and male-male sexual activity, it is present. hiv can be spread through bodily fluids, such as blood (including menstrual blood), vaginal fluid and breast milk, or by oral sex if the person has cuts or sores in her mouth or poor oral hygiene.