What is Sexual Health? - A Vision For The Future

When the strategy is successfully implemented…

Children at primary school level will have high levels of self-esteem and confidence. Parents will feel comfortable to talk to their children about sex as the issue arises, in a way that is appropriate for their stage of development.

They will reach puberty knowing what to expect and how to deal not only with the physical aspects, but with the emotional aspects too. They will know how to make and maintain good relationships and see sex as an integral part of a well-formed relationship. They will see the decision to abstain from sex until they are ready as a positive choice. When they choose to become sexually active they will know how to stay healthy and control their fertility. There will be very few teenage pregnancies and young parents will be supported by housing, education, training and employment agencies and by employers.

Adults will have the skills and knowledge to become good parents. There will be a much lower level of sexually transmitted infections and people will feel comfortable and confident in accessing sexual health services that are confidential and non-judgemental. There will be support for people of different sexual orientations, particularly young people. Schools and communities will not tolerate homophobic bullying.

The needs of specific groups like older people, those with a disability and those from different cultural backgrounds will be recognised, understood and supported.

Sexual health will be seen as something of value, which improves people's health and well-being and improves the quality of their lives through out the lifespan.

The Challenges

This holistic definition shows how many aspects of health and well-being need to be addressed to ensure positive sexual health. It presents us with some real challenges.

How do we ensure that people of all ages have appropriate knowledge and understanding of how their bodies work and how to keep themselves healthy? Who needs to know what, and when? How do we reach them?

How do we enable people to make informed choices? What can we do to ensure that information is available in places where it is accessible and in language and forms that are easily understood?

How do we ensure equity? Do we assume that certain groups in our society should not have access to information, because of age, disability, orientation or religious belief? We need to be aware of our own prejudices and beliefs and challenge these to ensure that people get what they need and not what we think they should have.

How do we enable people to develop the self-esteem and confidence in their beliefs to make the choices that are right for them? For some this choice is abstinence, for others it is waiting for sex until it can be part of an established relationship. For some it may be the realisation that they have a sexual orientation that is not heterosexual. For those who are sexually active are they making a free choice or acting out of misguided beliefs, pressure to conform or the need to please someone else?

How do we ensure that people understand that images and messages about sex and sexuality portrayed on television, in films and in the press often do not reflect reality? How do we ensure this is balanced with a more realistic view of behaviour in our society?

How do we support the development of good social skills and building of strong and lasting relationships?

How do we reduce the number of sexually transmitted infections?

How do we tackle issues of discrimination in relation to sexual health, like sexual orientation or HIV status?

How do we ensure that the number of young people becoming pregnant is reduced? How do we support young parents to reduce the likelihood of them falling into the poverty trap and reducing their own life options and those of their children?

Conclusion

We need a lifelong approach to sexual health because aspects of it affect us as young people, in the transition years, as adults, as parents, and as older people. For this reason improving sexual health for the residents of the Western area will require the joint efforts of people from many backgrounds and with different kinds of expertise. It will require us to work in partnership, to share ideas, resources and skills. Register with the website to keep up to date with what is happening. Contact us if you are, or would like to be involved in making this vision a reality.